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THE UNIVERSITY 
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LIBRARY 
From the library of 
George S. King 
Presented by his grandson es 


George K. Linton 
1937 


PICEA 
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THE 
SAINTS’ EVERLASTING REST. 
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___—sO¥RBY THE REY. RICHARD BAXTER. 
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ABRIDGED BY . 
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BENJAMIN FAWCETT, we - 
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CONTENTS. 


meompimcr's proiage, .%. . GE, . . Oe 5 
CHAPTER I. 

ltd account of = of the saints’ 

rest, . . . e ° a. 6 ° ° e 15 


c CHAPTER II. 
The great preparatives for the saints’ rest, . . . . 41 


CHAPTER III. 


<a ‘The excellencies of the saints’ rest, . . . . 3 . 55 


CHAPTER IV. 

‘The character of the persons for whom this rest is de- 
Ch AUS UCT och 
CHAP TER Yv. 

_ The great misery of those who lose the saints’ rest, . 107 


4 CHAPTER VI. 

The misery of those who, besides losing the saints’ rest, 
lose the ee of 4 and suffer the torments of 
pS) A a i . + gis o* 128 


CHAPTER VII. 
The necessity of diligently seeking the saints’ rest, . 149 


CHAPTER VIII. 
How to discern our title to the saints’ rest, . . . . 180 
CHAPTER IX. 
The duty of the i of God to excite others to seek this 
Se arr : . ‘eb ae a 59 


& CHA P TER X. 
‘The saints’ rest is not to be expected on earth, . . . 248 


Meee 995205 


4 : , CONTENTS. 
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m G-~ « 
q°- GHAPTER XI. 
The importance of ae a heavenly life upon qerthy 274 
« * CHAPTER XI.” ’ 
Directions how to lead a heavenly life upon earth, ~. 306 


CHAPTER XIII. ™ 

The nature of heavenly aes ae with the time, place, 
and temper fittest fo 0") 4 UR ae 337 

4 BAPTER XIV. 

What use heavenly contemplation makes of considerati 

the affections, soliloquy, and prayer, 
a CHAPTER XV. ) 
Heavenly contemplation assisted by sensible objects, ar 
guarded against a treacherous heart, . . 2. . « 
9 CHAPTER XVI. * 
Heavenly contemplation exemplified, and the whole y 
condladeds 2° f 1-2 bv BS ES 5 ee 






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“PREFATORY NOTICE. 


Ricuarp Baxter, the author of the Saints’ Rest, so 

well known to the world by this and many other bidet! 

S lent and useful writings, was a learned, laborious, and 

»- eminently holy divine of the last age. He was born near 
oe in 1615, and died at London in 1691. 

His ministry, in an unsettled state, was for many 

a years employed with great and extensive success both 

in London and in several parts of the country; but he 

was nowhere fixed so long, or with such entire satis- 

_, faction to himself, and apparent advantage to others, as 

a at Kidderminster. His abode there was indeed intel! 

rupted, partly by his bad health, but chiefly by the ca- 

_ lamities of a civil war; yet in the whole it amounted to 

fom years; nor was it by any means the result of his 


own. choice, or that of the inhabitants of Kidderminster, 
that he never setiled there again, after his going from 
thence in 1660. Before his coming thither, the place 
Was overrun with ignorance and profaneness; but, by 
= the divine blessing on his wise and faithful cultivation, 
« the fruits of righteousness sprung up in rich Apiitidande. 
Due at first found but a single instance or two of daily 
family prayer in a whole street; and on his going away 
ut one family or two could be found in some streets 
*that continued to neglect it. And on Lord’s days, in- 
a stead of the open profanation to which they had been so 
= long accustomed, a person in passing through the town 
2 in the intervals of public worship, might overhear hun- 


6 COMPILER’S PREFACE. 


dreds of families engaged in singing psalms, reading the 
Scriptures and other good books, or such sermons as they 
had taken down while they heard them from the pulpit. 
His care of the souls committed to his charge, and the 
suecess of his labors among them, were truly remark- 
able; for the number of his stated communicants rose 
to six hundred, of whom he himself declared there were 
not twelve concerning whose sincere piety he had not 
reason to entertain Bod hope. Blessed be God, the 
religious spirit which was thus happily introdtieedl is 
yet to be traced in the town and neighborhood in some 
degree—O that it were in a greater—and_in proportio: 
as that spirit remains, the name of Mr. Baxter continues 
in the most honorable and affectionate remembrance. 

As a writer, he has the approbation of some of is 2 
greatest contemporaries, who best knew him, and were 
under no temptation to be partial in his favor. Dr. Bar-— 
row said, “His practical writings were never mended, 
and his controversial ones seldom confuted.” With a 
view to his casuistical writings, the honorable Robert — 
Boyle declared, ‘‘ He was the fittest man of the age for 
a casuist, poco he feared no man’s displeasure, nor 
hoped for any man’s preferment.”? Bishop Wilkins ob- 
served of him, that ‘he had cultivated every subject he 
had handled ; that if he had lived in the primitive times, 
he would have been one of the fathers of the church ; 
and that it was enough for one age to produce such a 
person as Mr. Baxter.’’? Archbishop Usher had such 
high thoughts of him, that by his earnest importunity 
he put him upon writing several of his practical dis- 
courses, particularly that celebrated piece, his Call to 
the Unconverted. Dr. Manton, as he freely expressed it, 
“thought Mr. Baxter came nearer the apostolical writ- 


COMPILER’S PREFACE. y 


ings than any man in the age.” And it is both asa 
preacher and a writer that Dr. Bates considers him, 
when, in his funeral-sermon he says, ‘‘In his sermons 
there was a rare union of arguments and motives to con- 
vinee the mind and gain the heart. A1l the fountains of 
reason and persuasion were open to his discerning eye. 
There was no resisting the force of his discourses, with- 
out denying reason and divine revelation. He had a 
marvellous facility and copiousness in speaking. There 
was a noble negligence in his style, for his great mind 
could not stoop to the affected eloquence of words; he 
despised flashy oratory, but his expressions were clear 
and powerful ; so convincing the understanding, so enter- 
ing into the soul, so engaging the affections, that those 
were as deaf as adders who were not charmed by so wise 
a charmer. He was animated with the Holy Spirit, and 
breathed celestial fire, to inspire heat and life into dead 
sinners, and to melt the obdurate in their frozen tombs. 
His books, for their number—which amounted to more 
‘than one hundred and twenty—and the variety of matter 
in them, make a library. They contain a treasure of con- 
troversial, casuistical, and practical divinity. His books 
of practical divinity have been effectual for more numer- 
ous conversions of sinners to God than any printed in our 
time; and while the church remains on earth, will be 
of continual efficacy to recover lost souls. There is a 
vigorous pulse in them, that keeps the reader awake and 
attentive.’”’ To these testimonies may not improperly 
be added that of the editors of his practical works in 
four folio volumes; in the »preface to which they say, 
‘Perhaps there are no writings among us that have 
more of a true Christian spirit, a greater mixture of - 
judgment and affection, or a greater tendency to revive 
4 


g COMPILER’S PREFACE. 


pure and undefiled religion ; that have been more esteemed 
abroad, or more blessed at home, for awakening the 
secure, instructing the ignorant, confirming the waver- 
ing, comforting the dejected, recovering the profane, or 
improving such as are truly serious, than the practical 
works of this author.”” Such were the apprehensions 
of eminent persons who were well acquainted with Mr. 


Baxter and his writings. It is therefore the less remark- 


able that Mr. Addison, from an accidental and very im- 
perfect acquaintance, but with his usual pleasamyanes 
and candor, should mention the following incident: “I 


once met with a page of Mr. Baxter. Upon the perusal , 
of it, 1 conceived so good an idea of the author’s piety 


that i bought the whole book.” 
Whatever other causes might coneur, it must chiedyae 


be ascribed to Mr. Baxter’s distinguished reputation as 


a preacher and a writer, that, presently after the Res- 
toration, he was sprinted one of the chaplains in ordi- 
nary to king Charles II., and preached onee before him 
in that capacity; as also that he had an offer made him 
by lord-chancellor Clarendon, of the bishoprie of Here- 
ford, which, in a respectful letter to his ae he saw 
proper to Sacha 

The ‘ Saints’ Rest”’ is deservedly ee Mhoinca one of the 
most valuable parts of his practical works. He wrote it 
when he was far from home, without any book to con- 
sult but his Bible, and in such an ill state of health as 
to be in continual expectation of death for many months; 
and therefore, merely for his own use, he fixed his 
thoughts on this heavenly subject, ‘‘ which,” says he, 
“hath more benefited me than all the studies of my 
life.”’” At this time he could be little more than thirty 
years old. He afterwards preached over the subject in 


Sys 


~ 


' COMPILER’S PREFACE. 9 


his weekly lecture at Kidderminster, and in 1650 pub- 
lished it ; indeed it appears to have been the first that 
ever he published of all his practical writings. Of this 
book Dr. Bates says, “It was written by him when lan- 
guishing in the suspense of life and death, but has the 
signatures of his hely and vigorous mind. To allure our 
desires, he unveils the sanctuary above, and discovers 
- the glories and joys of the blessed in the divine pres- 
ence, by a light so strong and lively, that all the glit- 
tering vanities of this world vanish in the comparison, 
and a sincere believer will despise them, as,one of 
- mature age does the toys and baubles of children. To 
__ excite our fear, he removes the screen, and makes the 
; _ everlasting fire of hell so visible, and represents the 
' tormenting passions of the damned in such dreadful 
colors, as, if duly considered, would check and control 
the unbridled, licentious appetites of the most sensual 
wretches.”  —~--— 

Heayenly rest is a subject in its own nature so uni- 
versally important and interesting, and at the same time 
so truly engaging and delightful, as sufficiently accounts 
for the great acceptance which this book has met with; 
and partly, also, for the uncommon blessing which has 

attended Mr. Baxter’s manner of treating the subject, 
both from the pulpit and the press. For where are the 
operations of divine grace more reasonably to be ex- 
pected, or where have they, in fact, been more fre- 
quently discerned, than in coneurrence with the best 
adapted: means? And should it appear that persons 
of distinguishing judgment and piety have expressly 
ascribed their first religious impressions to the hearing 
or reading the important sentiments contained in this 
book ; or, after a long series of years, have found it both 


tr 


10 COMPILER’S PREFACE. 


the counterpart and the improvement of their own divine 
life; will not this be thought a considerable recommen- 
dation of the book itself? 

Among the instances of persons that dated their true 
conversion from hearing the sermons on the saints’ rest 
when Mr. Baxter first preached them, was the Rey. 
Thomas Doolittle, M. A., who was a native of Kidder- 
minster, and at that time a scholar about seventeen 
years old, whom Mr. Baxter himself afterwards sent to 
Pembroke Hall, in Cambridge, where he took his degree. 
Before his going to the university, he was upon trial as 
an attorney’s clerk, and under that character, being 
ordered by his master to write something on a Lord’s 
day, he obeyed with great reluctance, and the next day _ 
returned home, with an earnest desire that he might not — 
apply himself to any thing, as the employment of life, 
but serving Christ in the ministry of the gospel. His 
praise is yet in the churches, for his pious and useful 
labors as a minister, a tutor, and a writer. 

In the life of the Rev. John Janeway, Fellow of 
King’s College, Cambridge, who died in 1657, we are 
told that his conversion was, in a great measure, occa- 
sioned by his reading the Saints’ Rest. And in a letter 
which he afterwards wrote to a near relative, speaking 
with a more immediate reference to that part of the 
_ book which treats of heavenly contemplation, he says, 
“There is a duty which, if it were exereised, would | 
dispel all cause of melancholy: I mean heavenly medi- 
tation and contemplation of the things to which the true 
Christian religion tends. If we did but walk closely 
with God one hour in a day in this duty, O what influ- - 
ence would it have upon the whole day besides, and, 
duly performed, upon the whole life. This duty, with 


COMPILER’S PREFACE. 14 


its usefulness, manner, and directions, I knew in some 
measure before, but had it more pressed upon me by 
Mr. Baxter’s Saints’ Everlasting Rest, a book that can 
scarce be overvalued, and for which I have cause for 
ever to bless God.”? This excellent young minister’s life 
is worth reading, were it only to see how. delightfully he 
was engaged in heavenly contemplation, according to. the 
directions in the Saints’ Rest. 

- It was the example of heavenly contemplation, at the 
close of this book, which the Rev. Joseph Alleine so fre- 
quently quoted in conversation, with this solemn intro- 
duction, ‘ Most divinely says that man of God, holy Mr. 
Baxter.” 

Dr. Bates, in his funeral-sermon, dedicated to Sir 
Henry Ashurst, says to that religious gentleman and 
most distinguished friend and executor of Mr. Baxter, 
“He was most worthy of your highest esteem and love; 
for the first impressions of heaven upon your soul were 
in reading his invaluable book of the Saints’ Everlast- 
ing Rest.” 

In the life of the Rev. Matthew Henry we have the 
following character given us of Robert Warburton, Esq., 
of Grange, the son of the eminently religious Judge War- 
burton, and the father of Matthew Henry’s second wife, 
“He was a gentleman that greatly affected retirement 
and privacy, especially in the latter part of his life: 
the Bible and Mr. Baxter’s Saints’ Everlasting Rest 
used to lie daily before him on the table in his parlor; 
he. spent the greatest part of his time in reading and 
prayer.” 

In the life of that honorable and most religious knight, 
Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston, we are told that “he was 
constant in secret prayer and reading the Scriptures ; 


12 COMPILER’S PREFACE. 


afterwards he read other choice authors; but not long 
before his death he took a singular delight in reading 
Mr. Baxter’s Saints’ Everlasting Rest and preparations 
thereunto; which was esteemed a gracious event of 
divine Providence, sending it as a guide to bring him 
more speedily and directly to that rest.’ 

Besides persons of eminence, to whom this book has 
been precious and profitable, we have an instance, in the 
Rev. James Janeway’s Token for Children, of a little 
boy, whose piety was so discovered and promoted by 
reading it, as the most delightful book to him next to the 
Bible, that the thoughts of everlasting rest seemed, even 
while he continued in health, to swallow up all other 
thoughts ; and he lived in a constant preparation for it, 
and appeared more like one that was ripe for glory, than 
an inhabitant of this lower world. And when he was 
in the sickness of which he died before he was twelve 
years old, he said, “I pray, let me have Mr. Baxter’s 
book, that I may read a little more of eternity before | 
go into it.”’ 

Nor is it less observable that Mr. Baxter himself, 
taking notice, in a paper found in his study after his 
death, what a number of persons were converted by 
reading his Call to the Unconverted, accounts of which 
he had received by letter every week, expressly adds, 
“This little book, the Call to the Unconverted, God 
hath blessed with unexpected success, beyond all that I 
have written, except the Saints’ Rest.’ With an evi- 
dent reference to this book, and even during the life of 
the author, the pious Mr. Flavel affectionately says, 
“ Mr. Baxter is almost in heaven—living in the daily 
views and cheerful expectation of the saints’ everlasting 
rest with God; and is left for a little while among us, 


OCOMPILER’S PREFACE. 13 


as a great example of the life of faith.’ And Mr. Bax- 
ter himself says, in his preface to his Treatise of Self- 
Denial, “‘I must say, that of all the books which I have 
written, I peruse none so often for the use of my own 
soul in its daily work, as my Life of Faith, this of Self- 
Denial, and the last part of the Saints’ Rest.” On the 
whole, it is not without good reason that Dr. Calamy 
remarks concerning it, ‘‘ This is a book for which multi- 
tudes will have cause to bless God for ever.’ 

This excellent and useful book now appears in ‘the 
form of an abridgment; and therefore, it is presumed, 
will be more likely, under the divine blessing, to diffuse 
its salutary influence among those that would otherwise 
have wanted opportunity or inclination to read over the 
larger volume. In reducing it to this smaller size, I 
have been very desirous to do justice to the author, and 
at the same time promote the pleasure and profit of the 
serious reader. And I hope these ends are in some meas- 
ure answered ; chiefly by dropping things of a digressive, 
controversial, or metaphysical nature; together with pre- 
faces, dedications, and various allusions to some peculiar 
circumstances of the last age; and particularly by throw- 
ing several chapters into one, that the number of them 
may better correspond with the size of the volume; and 
sometimes by altering the form, but not the sense, of a 
period, for the sake of brevity; and when an obsolete 
phrase occurred, changing it for one more common and 
intelligible. I should never have thought of attempting 
this work, if it had not been suggested and urged by 
others : ad by some very respectable names, of whose 
learning, judgment, and piety I forbear to avail myself. 
However defective this performance may appear, the 
labor of ii—if it may be called a labor—has been, 


14 COMPILER’S PREFACE. 


I bless God, one of the most delightful labors of my 
life. 

‘Certainly the thoughts of everlasting rest may be as 
delightful to souls in the present day, as they have ever 
been to those of past generations. I am sure such 
thoughts are as absolutely necessary now; nor are 
temptations to neglect them either fewer or weaker than 
formerly. The worth of everlasting rest is not felt, 
because a thousand trifles are preferred before it. But 
were the divine reasonings of this book duly attended 
to—and O that the Spirit and grace of the Redeemer 
may make them so!—then an age of vanity would be- 
come serious ; minds enervated by sensuality would soon 
resume the strength of reason, and display the excellence 
of Christianity ; the delusive names of pleasure would 
be blotted out by the glorious reality of heavenly joy 
upon earth; every station and relation in life would be 
filled up with the propriety and dignity of serious religion ; 
every member of society would then effectually contrib- 
ute to the beauty and happiness of the whole; and every 
soul would be ready for life or death, for one world or 
another, in a well-grounded and cheerful persuasion of 
having secured a title to that rest which remaineth to 
the people of God. 


B. F. 
KipDERMINSTER, Dec. 25, 1758. 


THE 


* 


SAINTS’ EVERLASTING REST. 


“THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST UNTO THE 
PEOPLE OF GOD.”—HEsREws 4:9. 


CHAPTER I. 


INTRODUCTION—SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NATURE OF 
THE SAINTS’ REST. 


The important design of the apostle in the text, to which the 
author earnestly bespeaks the attention of the reader. The 
saints’ rest defined, with a general plan of the work. What 
this rest presupposes. The author’s humble sense of his 
inability fully to show what this rest contains. It contains, 
1. A ceasing from means of grace; 2. A perfect freedom 
from all evils; 3. The highest degree of the saints’ per- 
sonal perfection, both in body and soul; 4. The nearest 
enjoyment of God the chief good; 5. A sweet and constant 
action of all the powers of soul and body in this enjoyment 


of God. 

Ir was not only our interest in God, and actual 
enjoyment of him, which was lost in Adam’s fall, 
but all spiritual knowledge of him, and true dispo- 
sition towards such a felicity. When the Son of 
(rod comes with recovering grace, and discoveries 


16 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of a spiritual and eternal happiness and glory, he 
finds not faith in man to believe it. As the poor 
man, that would not believe any one had such a 
sum as a hundred pounds, it was so far above what 
himself possessed, so men will hardly now believe 
there is such a happiness as once they had, much 
less as Christ hath now procured. When God would 
give the Israelites his Sabbaths of rest, in a land of 
rest, 1t was harder to make them believe it than to 
overcome their enemies and procure it for them. 
And when they had it, only as a small intimation 
and earnest of an incomparably more glorious rest 


through Christ, they yet believe no more than they — 


possess, but say, with the epicure at the feast, Sure 
there is no other heaven but this! or, if they expect 
more by the Messiah, it is only the increase of their 
earthly felicity. The apostle aims most of this 
epistle against this obduracy, and clearly and largely 
proves that the end of all ceremonies and shadows 
is to direct them to Jesus Christ, the substance; 
and that the rest of Sabbaths and Canaan should 
teach them to look for a further rest, which indeed 
is their happiness. “My text is his conclusion after 
divers arguments—a conclusion which contains the 
ground of all the believer’s comfort, the end of al. 
his duty and sufferings, the hfe and sum of all ta 





pel promises and Christian privileges. PT ea 


‘What more welcome to men under personal afflic- 
tions, tiring duties, disappointments, or sufferings, 


2. 


. 


ITS NATURE. ~ 17 


than rest? It is not our comfort only, but our sta- 
“pility. Our liveliness in al} duties, our enduring 
of tribulation, our honoring of God, the vigor of 
our love, thankfulness, and all our graces, yea, the 
very being of our religion and Christianity, depend 
on the believing, serious thoughts of our rest. And 
now, reader, whoever.thou art, young or old, rich or 
poor, I ‘entreat thee and charge thee, in the name of 
thy Lord, who will shortly call thee to a reckoning, 
and judge theeto thy everlasting, unchangeable state, 
that thou give not these things the reading only,. 
and so dismiss them with a bare approbation ; but 
that thou set upon this work, and take God in Christ 
for thy only rest, and fix thy heart upon him above 
all. May the living God, who is the portion and 
rest of his saints, make these our carnal minds so 
spiritual, and our earthly hearts so heavenly, that 
loving him, and delighting in him, may be the work 
of our lives; and that neither I that write, nor you 
that read this book, may ever be turned from this 
path of life; “lest, a promise being left us of enter- 
ing into his rest,’ we should ‘come short of it,” 
through our own unbelief or negligence. 
The saints’ rest is the most happy state of a 
Christian ; or, it is the perfect, endless enjoyment of 
God by the perfected saints, according to the meas- 
wre of their capacity, to which their souls arrive at 
death, and both soul and body most fully after the 
resurrection and finaljudgment. According to this 
Saints? Rest, y 


18 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


definition of the saints’ rest, a larger account of its. 
nature will be given in this chapter ; of its prepara- 
tives, chap. 2; its excellencies, chap. 3; and chap. 
4, the persons for whom it is designed. Further to 
illustrate the subject, some description will be given, 
chap. 5, of their misery who lose this rest; and 
chap. 6, who also lose the enjoyments of time, and 
suffer the torments of hell. Next will be shown, 
chap. 7, the necessity of diligently seeking this rest ; 
chap. 8, how our title to it may be discerned; chap. 
9, that they who discern their title to it should help 
those that cannot; and chap. 10, that this rest is 
not to be expected on earth. It will then be proper 
to consider, chap. 11, the importance of a heavenly 
life upon earth; chap. 12; how to live a heavenly 
life upon earth; chap. 13, the nature of heavenly 
contemplation, with the time, place, and temper 
most fit for it; chap. 14, what use heavenly con- 
templation makes of consideration, affections, solil- 
oquy, and prayer; and likewise, chap. 15, how heav- 
enly contemplation may be assisted by sensible 
objects, and guarded against a treacherous heart. 
Heavenly contemplation will be exemplified, chap. 
16, and the whole work concluded. 

There are some things necessarily preswpposed in 
the nature of this rest: as, 

That mortal men are the persons seeking it. For 
angels and glorified spirits have it already, and the — 
devils and damned are past hope: 


ITS NATURE. 19 


That they choose God only for their end and 
happiness. He that takes any thing else for his 
happiness is out of the way the first step: ” 

That they are destant from this end. This is the 
woful case of all mankind since the fall. When 
Christ comes with regenerating grace he finds no 
man sitting still, but all posting to eternal ruin, 
and making haste towards hell ; till, by conviction, 
_ he first brings them to a stand, and then, by con- 
version, turns their hearts and lives sincerely to 
himself. This end, and its excellency, is supposed 
to be known, and seriously intended. An unknown 
good moves not to desire or endeavor. And not 
only a distance from this rest, but the true know- 
ledge of this distance, is also supposed. They that 
never yet knew they were without God and in the 
way to hell, never yet knew the way to heaven. , 
Can a man find he hath lost his God and his soul, ' 
and not cry, I am undone *?y The reason why so 
few obtain this rest.is, they will not be convinced 
that they are, in point of title, distant from it; and, 
in point of practice, contrary to it. Whoever sought 
for that which he knew not he had lost?, “ They 
that be whole need not a physician, but they that 
ALC SICK.” mam 

The influence of a superior moving Cause is also 
supposed, else we shall all stand still and not move 
towards our rest. If God move us not, we cannot 
move. It is a most necessary part of our Christian 


20 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


wisdom, tv keep our subordination to God, and de- 


pendence on him. ‘ We are not sufficient of our- 
selves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our 
sufficiency is of God.” ‘Without me,” says Christ, 


“ye can do nothing.” —— 

It is next supposed that they who seek this rest 
have an tnward principle of spiritual life. God 
does not niove men like stones, but he endows them 
with life, not to enable them to move without him, 
but in subordination to himself, the first mover. 

And further, this rest supposes such an actual 
tendency of soul towards it as is regular and constant, 
earnest and laborious. He that hides his talent shall 
receive the wages of a slothful servant», Christ is 
the door, the only way to this rest. ‘ But strait is 
the gate and narrow is the way;” and we must 
strive, if we will enter; for ‘“‘many will seek to 
enter in, and shall not be able; which imphes, 
‘that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.” 
Nor will it bring us to the end of the saints, if we 
begin in the spirit and end in the flesh. He only 
“that endureth to the end shall be saved.} And 
never did a soul obtain rest with God whose desire 
was not set upon him above all things else in the 
world. ‘Where your treasure is, there will your 
heart be also.” The remainder of our old nature 
will much weaken and interrupt these desires, but 
never overcome them. And, considering the oppo- 
sition to our desires, from the contrary principles in 


ITS NATURE. 21 


our nature, and from the weakness of our graces, 
together with our continued distance from the end, 
our tendency to that end must be laborious, and 
with all our might. All these things are presup- 
posed, in order to a Christian’s obtaining an interest 
in-heavenly rest. 

Now we have ascended these steps into the out- 
ward court, may we look within the veil? May 
we show what this rest contains as weil as what 
-it presupposes? Alas, how little know I of that 
glory. The glimpse which Paul had, contained 
what could not or must.not be uttered. Had he 
spoken the things of heaven in the language of 
heaven, and none understood that language, what 
the better? The Lord reveal to me what I may 
reveal to you. The Lord open some light, and show 
both you and me our inheritance./ Not as to Balaam 
only, whose eyes were opened to see the goodliness 
of Jacob’s tents and Israel’s tabernacles, where he 
had no portion, and from whence must come his 
own destruction; not as to Moses, who had only a 
discovery instead of possession, and saw the land 
which he never entered; but as the pearl was 
revealed to the merchant in the gospel, who rested 
not till he had sold all he had, and bought it; and 
as heaven was opened to blessed Stephen, which he 
was shortly to enter, and the glory showed him 
which should be his own possession. 

The things contained in heavenly rest are such 


99. THE SAINTS’ REST. 


as these: a ceasing from means of grace, a per- 
fect freedom from all evils; the highest degree of 
the saints’ personal perfection, both of body and. 
soul; the nearest enjoyment of God the chief good ; 
and a sweet and constant action of all the powers 
of body and soul in this enjoyment of God. 

1. One thing contained in heavenly rest is, the 
ceasing from means of grace. When we have 
obtained the haven, we have done sailing. , When 
the workman receives his wages, it is implied he 
has done his work. When we are at our journey’s 
end, we have done with the way. Whether prophe- 
cies, they shall fail; whether tongues, they shall 
cease ; whether knowledge, it also, so far as it had 
the nature of means, shall vanish away. There 
shall be no more prayer, because no more necessity, 
but the full enjoyment of what we prayed for: 
neither shall we need to fast, and weep, and watch 
any more, being out of the reach of sin and tempta- 
tions. Preaching is done; the ministry of man 
ceases; ordinances become useless; the laborers 
are called in, because the harvest is gathered, the 
tares burned, and the work finished; the unre- 
generate past hope, and the saints past fear for 
ever. 

2. There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom 
from all evils: from all the evils that accompanied 
us through our course, and which necessarily follow 
our absence from the chief good, besides our free- 


ITS NATURE. 23 


dom from those eternal flames and restless miseries 
which the neglecters of Christ and grace must for 
ever endure ; a woful inheritance, which, both by 
birth and actual merit, was due to us as well as to 
them., In heaven there is nothing that defileth or 
is unclean. All that remains without. And doubt- 
less there is not such a thing as grief and sorrow 
known there; nor is there such a thing as a pale 
face, a languid body, feeble joints, helpless infancy, 
decrepid age, peccant humors, painful or pining 
sickness, griping fears, consuming cares, nor what- 
soever deserves the name of evil. We wept and 
lamented when the world rejoiced, but our sorrow 
is turned to joy, and our joy shall no man take 
from us. 

3. Another ingredient of this rest is, the highest 
degree of the saints personal perfection, both of body 
and soul. Were the glory ever so great, and them- 
selves not made capable of it by a personal perfec- 
tion suitable thereto, it would be little to them. 
“Hye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
entered into the heart of man the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him.”, For 
the eye of flesh is not eapable of seeing them, nor 
this ear of hearing them, nor this heart of under- 
standing them: but there, the eye, and ear, and 
heart are made capable; else, how do they enjoy 
them? The more perfect the sight is, the more 
delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect 


re 


; 


« 


24 | THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musi- 
cal the ear, the more pleasant the melody. The more 
perfect the soul, the more joyous those joys, and the 
more glorious to us is that glory. 

4, The principal part of this rest is owr nearest 
enjoynrent of God the chief good. And here, reader, 
wonder not if I be at a loss, and if my apprehen- 
sions receive but little of that which is in my 
expressions. If it did not appear to the beloved 
disciple what we shall be, but only in general, 
‘that when Christ shall appear we shall be hke 
him,” no wonder if I know little. When I know so 

little of God, I cannot much know what it is to 
enjoy him. If I know so litle of spirits, how little 
of the Father of spirits, or the state of my own soul 
when advanced to the enjoyment of him. I stand 
and look upon a heap of*ants, and see them all at 
one view: they know not me, my being, nature, or 
thoughts, though I am their fellow-creature: how 
little, then, must we. know of the great Creator, 
though he, with one view, clearly beholdsusall. A 
glimpse the saints behold as in a glass, which makes 
us capable of some poor, dark apprehensions of what 
we shall behold in glory. If I should tell a world- 
ling what the holiness and spiritual joys of the 
saints on earth are, he cannot know; for grace can- 
not be clearly known without grace: how much_ 
less could he conceive it, should I tell him of this 
glory. But to the saints I may be somewhat more 


+ Ps 


© 


ITS NATURE. 25 


encouraged to speak, for grace gives them a dark 
knowledge and slight taste of glory. | 

If men and angels should study to speak the 
blessedness of that state in one word, what could 
they say beyond this, that it is the nearest enjoy- 
ment of God? O the full joys offered to a believer 
in that one sentence of Christ, ‘‘ Father, I will that 
they whom thou hast given me be with me where 
I am, that they may behold my glory which thou 
hast given me.” Every word is full of life and joy. 
If the queen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon’s 
glory, ‘‘ Happy are thy men, happy are these thy 
servants, who stand continually before thee, and 
hear thy wisdom ;” then, surely they that stand 
continually before God, and see his glory, and the 
glory of the Lamb, are more than happy. To them 
will Christ give to eat of the tree of life, and to eat 
of the hidden manna; yea, he will make them 
pillars in the temple of God, and they shall go no 
more out;, and he will write upon them the name 
of his God, and the name of the city of his God, 
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out 
of heaven from his God, and he will write upon 
them his new name; yea, more, if more may be, 
he will grant them to sit with him in his throne. 
“These are they who came. out of great tribula- 
tion, and have washed their robes, and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb; therefore are they 
before the throne of God, and serve him day and 


26 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


4 

night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne 
shall dwell among them. The Lamb, which is in 
the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall 
lead them unto living fountains of water; and God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” O blind, 
deceived world, can you show us such a glory? 
This is the city of our God, where the tabernacle of 
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and 
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 
with them, and be their God. The glory of God 
shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
And there shall be no more curse; but the throne 
of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his 
servants shall serve him, and they shall see his 
face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
These sayings are faithful and true, and the things 
which must shortly be done. “/ 

And now we say, as Mephibosheth, let the world 
take all, forasmuch as our Lord will come in peace. 
Rejoice, therefore, in the Lord, O ye righteous, and 
say, with his servant David, ‘“ The Lord is the por- 
tion of mine inheritance: the lines are fallen unto 
me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly herit- 
age. I have set the Lord always before me; be- 
cause he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; 
my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not- 
leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine 
Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me 


ITS NATURE. 27 


the path of life ; in thy presence is fulness of joy; 
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”’ 
What presumption would it have been once, to have 
thought or spoken of such a thing, if God had not 
spoken it before us. I durst not have thought of 
the saints’ preferment in this life, as scripture sets 
it forth, had it not been the express truth of God. 
How unbecoming to talk of being sons of God, speak- 
ing to him, having fellowship with him, dwelling 
in him and he in-us, if this had not been God’s own 
language. How much less durst we have once 
thought of shining forth as the sun, of being joint 
heirs with Christ, of judging the world, of sitting on 
Christ’s throne, of being one in him and the Father, 
if we had not all this from the mouth and under 
the hand of God.| But hath he said, and shall he 
not doit? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make 
it good? Yes, as the Lord God is true, thus shall 
it be done to the man whom Christ delighteth to 
honor. ~ 

Be of good cheer, Christian, the time is at hand 
when God and thou shalt be’near, and as near as 
thou canst well desire. Thou shalt dwell in his 
family. Is that enough? It is better to be a door- 
keeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the 
tents of wickedness. Thou shalt ever stand before 
him, about his throne; in the room with him, in his 
presence-chamber. Wouldst thou yet be nearer? 
Thou shalt be his child, and he thy Father; thou 


28 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


shalt be an heir of his kingdom; yea, more, the 
spouse of his Son. And what more canst thou 
-desire? Thou shalt be a member of the body of 
his Son ; he shall be thy head; thou shalt be one 
with him, who is one with the Father, as he him- 
self hath desired for thee of his Father: “that they 
all may be one, as thou, Father; art in me, and I 
in thee, that they also may be one in us; and the 
glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, 
that they may be one, even as we are one; I in 
them, and thou in me, that they may be made per- 
fect in one, and that the world may know that thou 
hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast 
loved me.” 

5. We must add, that thzs vest contains a sweet 
and constant action of all the powers of the soul and 
body in this enjoyment of God. It is not the rest 
of a stone, which ceaseth from all motion when it 
attams the centre. This body shall be so changed, 
that it shall no more be flesh and blood, which can- 
not inherit the kingdom of God; but a spiritual 
body. We sow not that body which shall be, but 
God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to 
every seed his own body. If grace makes a Chris- 
tian differ so much from what he was, as to say, I 
am not the man I was, how much more will glory 
make us differ. As much as a body spiritual, above- 
the sun in glory, exceeds these frail, noisome, dis- 
eased bodies of flesh, so far shall our senses exceed 


ITS NATURE. 99 


those we now possess. Doubtless, as God advances 
our senses, and enlarges our capacity, so will he 
advance the happiness-of those senses, and fill up, 
with himself, all that capacity. Certainly the body 
would not be raised up and continued, if it were not 
to share in the glory. As it hath shared in the 
obedience and sufferings, so shall it also in the 
blessedness. As Christ bought the whole man, so 
shall the whole partake of the everlasting benefits 
of the purchase. O blessed employment of a glori- 
fied body! to stand before the throne of God and 
the Lamb, and to sound forth for ever, ‘Thou art 
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and 
power. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honor, and glory, and blessing; for thou hast 
redeemed us to God, by thy blood, out of every 
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and 
hast made us unto our God kings and priests. Alle- 
luia ; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, 
unto the Lord our God. Alleluia, for the Lord 
God omnipotent reigneth.” O Christians, this is 
the blessed rest ; a rest, as it were, without rest ; 
for ‘‘ they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, 
holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is 
to come.’ And if the body shall be thus employed, 
O how shall the soul be taken up! As its powers 
and capacities are greatest, so its actions are strong- 
est, and its enjoyments sweetest. As the bodily 


* 


30 THE SAINTS? REST. 


senses have their proper actions, whereby they re- 
ceive and enjoy their objects, so does the soul in its 
own actions enjoy its own objects, by knowing, 
remembering, loving, and delightful joying. This 
is the soul’s enjoyment. By these eyes it sees, and 
by these arms it embraces. 

Knowledge, of itself, is very desirable. As far as 
the rational soul exceeds the sensitive, so far the 
delights of a philosopher, in discovering the secrets 
of nature, and knowing the mystery of sciences, 
exceed the delights of the drunkard, the voluptu- 
ary, or the sensualist. So excellent is all truth. 
What, then, is their delight who know the God of 
truth! How noble a faculty of the soul is the 
understanding! It can compass the earth; it can 
measure the sun, moon, stars, and heaven; it can 
foreknow each eclipse to a minute, many years 
before. But this is the top of all its excellency, 
that it can know God, who is infinite, who made 
all these—a little here, and more, much more here- 
after. O the wisdom and goodness of our blessed 
Lord! He hath created the understanding with a 
natural bias and inclination to truth, as its object ; 
and to the prime truth, as its primeobject. Christian, 
when, after long gazing heavenward, thou hast got a 
glimpse of Christ, dost thou not sometimes seem to 
have been with Paul in the third heaven, whether- 
in the body or out, and to have seen what is unut- 
terable? Art thou not, with Peter, ready to say, 


ITS NATURE. 31 


‘‘ Master, it is good tobe here?” ‘ O that I might 
dwell in this mount! O that I might ever see what . 
I now see!’ Didst thou never look so long upon 
the Sun of righteousness till thine eyes were daz- 
zled with his astonishing glory? And did not the 
splendor of it make all things below seem dark and 
drear to thee? Especially in the day of suffering 
for Christ, when he usually appears most manifestly 
to his people, didst thou never see one walking in 
the midst of the fiery furnace with thee, like the 
Son of God? Believe me, Christians, yea, believe 
God; you that have known most of God in Christ 
here, it is as nothing to what you shall know: in 
comparison of that, it scarce deserves to be called 
knowledge. For as these bodies, so that knowledge 
must cease, that a more perfect may succeed. ‘“ Know- 
ledge shall vanish away. For we know in part. 
But when that which is perfect is come, then that 
which is in part shall be done away. When I was 
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, 
I thought as a child; but when I became a man, 
I put away childish things. For now we see through 
a glass darkly, but then face to face ; now I know 
in part, but then shall I know even as also I am 
known.” Marvel not, therefore, Christian, how it 
can be life eternal to know God and Jesus Christ. 
To enjoy God and Christ is eternal life; and the 
soul’s enjoying is in knowing. They that savor 
only of earth, and consult with flesh, think it a poor 


32 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


happiness to know God. ‘But we know that we 
are of God, and the whole world lieth in wicked- 
ness; and we know that the Son of God is come, 
and hath given us an understanding, that we may 
know him that is true; and we are in him that is 
true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true 
God and eternal life.” 

The memory will not be idle, or useless, in this 
blessed work. From that height the saint can look 
behind him and before him. And to compare past 
with present things must raise in the blessed soul 
an inconceivable esteem and sense of its condition. 
To stand on that mount, whence we can-see the 
wilderness and Canaan both at once—to stand in 
heaven and look back on earth, and weigh them 
together in the balance of a comparing sense and 
judgment, how must it needs transport the ce and 
make it cry out, 

‘“‘Is this the purchase that cost so dear as the 
blood of Christ? No wonder.. O blessed price! 
and thrice blessed love, that invented and conde- 
scended! Is this the end of believing? Is this the 
end of the Spirit’s workings? Have the gales of 
grace blown me into such a harbor? Is it hither 
that Christ hath allured my soul? O blessed way, 
and thrice blessed end! Is this the glory which 
the Scriptures spoke of, and ministers preached -of 
so much? I see the gospel is indeed good tidings, 
even tidings of peace and good things, tidings of 


ITS NATURE. 33 


great joy to all nations. Is my mourning, my fast- 
ing, my sad humblings, my heavy walking, come 
tothis? Is my praying, watching, fearing to offend, 
come to this? Are all my afflictions, Satan’s temp- 
tations, the world’s scorns and jeers, come to this? 
O vile nature, that resisted so much, and so long, 
such a blessing! Unworthy soul, is this the place 
thou camest to so unwillingly? Was duty weari- 
some? Was the world too good to‘lose? Couldst 
thou not leave all, deny all, and suffer any thing 
for this? Wast thou loath to die to come to this? 
O false heart, thou hadst almost betrayed me to 
eternal flames, and lost me this glory! Art thou 
not now ashamed, my soul, that ever thou didst 
question that love which brought thee hither; that 
thou wast jealous of the faithfulness of thy Lord ; 
that thou suspectedst his love, when thou shouldst 
only have suspected thyself; that ever thou didst 
quench a motion of his Spirit; and that thou 
shouldst misinterpret those providences, and repine 
at those ways which have such an end? Now 
thou art sufficiently convinced that thy blessed 
Redeemer was saving thee, as well when he crossed 
thy desires, as when he granted them—when he 
broke thy heart, as when he bound it up. No 
thanks to thee, unworthy self, for this received 
crown; but to Jehovah and the Lamb be glory for 
ever.” 

But O, the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment, is 
Saints’ Rest, 3 


34 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


that of Jove. ‘God is love; and he that dwelleth in 
love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Now the 
poor soul complains, “O that I could love Christ 
more!’ Then thou eanst not but love him. Now, 
thou knowest little of his amiableness, and thére- 
fore lovest little: then, thine eyes will affect thy 
heart, and the continual viewing of that perfect 
beauty will keep thee in continual transports of love. — 
Christians, doth it: not now stir up your love, to 
remember all.the experiences of his love? Doth 
not kindness melt you, and the sunshine of divine 
goodness warm your frozen hearts? What will it 
do then, when you shall live in love, and have all 
in Him, who is all? Surely love is both work and 
wages. What a high favor, that God will give us 
leave to love him; that he will be embraced by 
those who have embraced lust and sin before him. 
But more than this, he returneth love for love; nay, 
a thousand times more.: Christian, thou wilt be 
then brimfull of love; yet, love as much as thou 
canst, thou shalt be ten thousand times more be- 
loved. Were the arms of the Son of God open upon 
the cross, and an open passage made to his heart by 
the spear; and will not his arms and heart be open 
to thee in glory? Did not he begin to love before 
thou lovedst, and will not he continue now? Did 
he love thee, an enemy—thee, a sinner—thee, who 
even loathedst thyself; and own thee, when thou 
didst. disclaim .thyself? And will he not now 


ITS NATURE. « 35 


immeasurably love thee, a son—thee, a perfect 
saint—thee, who returnest some love for love? 
He that in love wept over the old Jerusalem when 
near its ruin, with what love will he rejoice over 
the new Jerusalem in her glory! ~~ 

Christian, believe this, and think on it: thou 
shalt be externally embraced in the arms of that 
love which was from everlasting, and will extend 
to everlasting—of that love which brought the Son 
of God’s love from heaven to earth, from earth to 
the cross, from the cross to the grave, from the 
grave to glory—that love which was weary, hungry, 
tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spit upon, eru- 
cified, piereed—which did fast, pray, teach, heal, 
weep, sweat, bleed, die; that love will eternally 
embrace thee. When perfect created love and most 
perfect uncreated love meet together, it will not be 
like Joseph and his brethren, who lay upon one 
another’s necks weeping; it will be loving and 
rejoicing, not loving and sorrowing. Yes, it will 
make Satan’s court ring with the news that Joseph’s 
brethren are come, that the saints are arrived safe 
at the bosom of Christ, out of the reach of hell for 
ever. Nor is there any such love as David’s and 
Jonathan’s, breathing out its last into sad lamenta- 
tions for a forced separation. Know this, believer, 
to thy everlasting comfort, if those arms have once 
_ embraced thee, neither sin nor hell can get thee 
thence for ever. Thou hast not to deal with an 


36 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


inconstant creature, but with Him with whom is 
no variableness nor shadow of turning. His love to 
thee will not be as thine was on earth to him, sel- 
dom and cold, up and down. He that would not 
cease nor abate his love, for all thine enmity, unkind 
neglects, and churlish resistances, can he cease to 
love thee when he hath made thee truly lovely? 
He that keepeth thee so constant in thy love to him, 
that thou canst challenge tribulation, distress, per- 
secution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, to sepa- 
rate thy love from-Christ, how much more will he 
himself be constant. Indeed thou mayest be “ per- 
suaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And 
now, are we not left in the apostle’s admiration: 
‘‘What shall we say to these things?” Infinite 
‘love must needs be a mystery to a finite capacity. 
No wonder angels desire to look into this mystery. 
And if it be the study of saints here ‘to know the 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the 
love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ;” the 
saints’ everlasting rest must consist in the enjoy- 
ment of God by love. s 
Nor does joy share least in this fruition. It is 
this which all we have mentioned lead to, and con- 
clude in; even the inconceivable complacency which 


ITS NATURE. 37 


the blessed feel in seeing, knowing, loving, and being 
loved of God. This is ‘the white stone which no 
man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.” Surely 
this is the joy with which a stranger doth not inter- 
meddle. All Christ’s ways of mercy tend to and 
end in the saints’ joys. He wept, sorrowed, suffered, 
that they might rejoice; he sends the Spirit to be 
their comforter; he multiplies promises; he dis- 
covers their future happiness, that their joy may be 
full. He opens to them the fountain of living waters, 
that they may thirst no more, and that it may spring 
up in them to everlasting life. He chastens them 
that he may give them rest. He makes it their 
duty to rejoice in him always, and again commands 
them to rejoice. He never brings them into so low 
a condition that he does not leave them more cause 
of joy than sorrow. And hath the Lord such a care 
of our comfort here? O what will that joy be, 
where the soul being perfectly prepared for joy, and 
joy prepared by Christ for the soul, it shall be our 
work, our business, eternally to rejoice! It seems 
the saints’ joy shall be greater than the damned’s 
torment; for their torment is the torment of crea- 
tures, prepared for the devil and his angels; but 
our joy is the joy of our Lord. The same glory which 
the Father gave the Son, the Son hath given them, 
to sit with him in his throne, even as he is set down 
with his Father in his throne. Thou, poor soul, 
who prayest for joy, waitest for joy, complainest for 


38 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


want of joy, longest for joy; thou then shalt have 
full joy, as much as thou canst hold, and more than 
ever thou thoughtest on, or thy heart desired. In 
the meantime walk carefully, watch constantly, and 
then let God measure out to thee thy times and 
degrees of joy. It may be he keeps them until thou 
hast more need. Thou hadst better lose thy com- 
fort than thy safety. If thou shouldst die full of 
fears and sorrows, it will be but a moment, and 
they are all gone and concluded in joy inconceiy- 
able. As the joy of the hypocrite, so the fears of 
the upright are but for a moment. God’s ‘anger 
endureth but a moment ; in his favor is life ; weep- 
ing may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
morning.” O blessed morning! Poor, humble, 
drooping soul, how would it fill thee with joy now, 
if a voice from heaven should tell thee of the love 
of God, the pardon of thy sins, and assure thee of 
thy part in these joys! What then will thy joy be, 
when thy actual possession shall convince thee of 
thy title, and thou shalt be in heaven before thou 
art well aware ? 

And it is not thy joy only ; it is a mutual joy as 
well as a mutual love. Is there joy in heaven at 
thy conversion, and will there be none at thy glo- 
rification? Will not the angels welcome thee 
thither, and congratulate thy safe arrival? Yes, it 
is the joy of Jesus Christ ; for now he hath the end 
of his undertaking, labor, suffering, dying, when we 


ITS NATURE. 39 


have our joys—when. he is “glorified in his saints, 
and admired in all them that believe”—when he 
“sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied.” 
This is Christ’s harvest, when he shall reap the 
fruit of his labors; and it will not repent him con- 
cerning his sufferings, but he will rejoice over his 
purchased inheritance, and his people will rejoice 
in him. Yea, the Father himself puts on joy, too, 
in our joy. As we grieve his Spirit, and weary 
him with our iniquities, so he is rejoiced in our 
good. O how quickly does he now spy a returning 
prodigal, even afar off! How does he run and meet 
him! And with what compassion does he fall on 
his neck and kiss him, and put on him the best robe, 
and a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and 
kill the fatted calf, to eat and. be merry! This is 
indeed a happy meeting; but nothing to the em- 
bracing and joy of that last and great meeting. 
Yea, more; as God doth mutually love and joy, so 
he makes this his rest, as it is our rest. What an 
eternal sabbatism, when the work of redemption, 
sanctification, preservation, glorification is all fin- 
nished and perfected forever! ‘The Lord thy God 
in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he 
will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his 
love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Well 
may we then rejoice in our God with joy, and rest 
in our love, and joy in him with singing. 
Alas, my fearful heart scarce dares proceed. 


40 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Methinks I hear the Almighty’s voice saying to 
me, ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words - 
without knowledge?” But pardon thy servant, O 
Lord. I have not pried into unrevealed things. I 
bewail that my apprehensions are so dull, my 
thoughts so mean, my affections so stupid, and my 
expressions so low and unbecoming such a glory. 
I have only heard by the hearing of the ear: O let 
thy servant see thee, and possess these joys; then 
shall I have more suitable conceptions, and shall 
give thee fuller glory; I shall abhor my present 
self, and disclaim and renounce all these imperfec- 
tions. ‘ Thave uttered that I understood not, things 
too wonderful for me, which I knew not.” Yet “I 
believed, and therefore have I spoken.” What, 
Lord, canst thou expect from dust, but levity ; or 
from corruption, but defilement? Though the weak- 
ness and irreverence be the fruit of my own cor- 
ruption, yet the fire is from thine altar, and the 
work of thy commanding. I looked not into thy 
ark, nor put forth my hand unto it without thee. 
Wash away these stains also in the blood of the 
Lamb. Imperfect, or none, must be thy service 
here. O take thy Son’s exeuse, “The spirit is 
willing, but the flesh is weak.” 


ITS PREPARATIVES. 41 


P CHAPTER II. 


THE GREAT PREPARATIVES FOR THE SAINTS’ REST. 


There are four things which principally prepare the way to 
enter into it: particularly, 1. The glorious appearing of 
Christ; 2. The general resurrection; 3. The last judgment; 
and, 4. The saints’ coronation. 


THE passage of paradise is not now so blocked 
up as when the law and curse reigned. Wherefore 
finding, beloved Christians, a new and living way 
consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, 
the flesh of Christ, by which we may with bold- 
ness enter into the holiest, I shall draw near with 
fuller assurance ; and, finding the flaming sword 
removed, shall look again into the paradise of our 
God. And because I know that this is no forbid- 
den fruit, and withal that it is good for food, and 
pleasant to the spiritual eyes, and a tree to be de- 
sired to make one truly wise and happy, I shall, 
through the assistance of the Spirit, take and eat 
thereof myself, and give to you, according to my 
power, that you may eat. The porch of this temple 
is exceeding glorious, and the gate of it is called 
Beautiful. Here are four things as the four corners 
of this porch. 

1. The most glorious coming and appearing of 
the Son of God may well be reckoned in his people’s 


42 THE SAINTS’ REST, 


glory. For their sake he came into the world, suf- 
fered, died, rose, ascended; and for their sake it is 
that he will return. To this end will Christ come 
again to receive his people unto himself, that where. 
he is, there they may be also. The bridegroom’s 
departure was not upon divorce. He did not leave 
us with a purpose to return no more. He hath left 
pledges enough to assure us to the contrary. We 
have his word, his many promises, his ordinances, 
which show forth his death till he come; and his 
Spirit, to direct, sanctify, and comfort till he return. 
We have frequent tokens of love from him, to show 
us he forgets not his promise, nor’ us. We daily 
behold the forerunners of his coming, foretold by 
himself. We see the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, 
and therefore know that summer is nigh. Though 
the riotous world say, My Lord delayeth his coming, 
yet let the saints lift up their heads, for their 
redemption draweth nigh. Alas, fellow-Christians, 
what should we do if our Lord should not return ? 
What a case are we here left in! What, leave us 
in the midst of wolves, and among lions, a genera- 
tion of vipers, and here forget us! Did he buy us so 
dear, and then leave us sinning, suffering, groaning, 
dying daily ; and will he come no more to us? It 
eannot be. This is lke our unkind dealing with 
Christ, who, when we feel ourselves warm in the 
world, care not for coming to him; but this is 
not like Christ’s dealing with us. He that would 


ITS PREPARATIVES, 43 
¢ 


come to suffer, will surely come to triumph. He 
that would come to purchase, will surely come to 
possess. Where else were all our hopes? What 
were become of our faith, our prayers, our tears, 
_and our waiting? What were all the patience of 
the saints worth to them? Were we not left of all 
men the most miserable? Christians, hath Christ 
made us forsake all the world, and to be forsaken 
of all the world—to hate all, and be hated of all; 
and all this for him, that we might have him instead 
ofall? And will he, think you, after all this, for- 
get us and forsake us himself? Far be such a 
thought from our hearts. But why staid he not 
with his people while he was here? Why? Was 
not the work on earth done? Must he not take 
possession of glory in our behalf? Must he not 
intercede with the Father, plead his sufferings, be 
filled with the Spirit to send forth, receive author- 
ity, and subdue his enemies? Our abode here is 
short. If he had staid on earth, what would it 
have been to enjoy him for a few days and then 
die? He hath more in heaven to dwell among, 
even the spirits of many generations. He will have 
us live by faith, and not by sight. 

O fellow-Christians, what a day will that be, 
when we, who have.been kept prisoners by sin, by 
sinners, by the grave, shall be brought out by the 
Lord himself! It will not be such a coming as his 
first was, in poverty and contempt, to be spit upon, 


7 


44 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


and buffeted, and crucified again. He will not come, 
O careless world, to be slighted and neglected by 
you any more. Yet that coming wanted not its 
glory. If the heavenly host, for the celebration of 
his nativity, must praise God, with what shoutings . 
will angels and saints at that day proclaim glory to 
God, peace and good-will towards men. If a star 
must lead men from remote parts to come to wor- 
ship the child in the manger, how will the glory of 
his next appearing constrain all the world to acknow- 
ledge his sovereignty. If, riding on an ass, he enter 
Jerusalem with hosannas, with what peace and 
glory will he come towards the new Jerusalem. If, 
when he was in the form of a servant, they cry out, 
‘What manner of man is this, that even the winds 
and the sea obey him?” what will they say when 
they shall see him coming in his glory, and the 
heavens and the earth obey him? ‘Then shall all 
the tribes of the earth mourn.” Tothink and speak 
of that day with horror doth well become the im- 
penitent sinner, but ill the believing saint. Shall 
the wicked behold him, and cry, ‘“ Yonder is he 
whose blood we neglected, whose grace we resisted, 
whose counsel we refused, whose government we cast 
off! and shall not the saints, with inconceivable 
gladness, cry, “‘ Yonder is he whose blood redeemed 
us, whose Spirit cleansed us, whose law governed 
us; in whom we trusted, and he hath not deceived — 
our trust; for whom we long waited, and now we 


ITS PREPARATIVES. 45 


see we have not waited in vain? O cursed corrup- 
tion, that would have had us turn to the world and 
present things, and say, Why should we wait for 
the Lord any longer? Now we see, Blessed are all 
they that wait for him.” And now, Christians, 
should we not put up that petition heartily, ‘‘ Thy 
kingdom come? The Spirit. and the bride say, 
Come: and let him that heareth,”’ and readeth, 
“say, Come.’ Our Lord himself says, ‘‘ Surely I 
come quickly.”’ Amen: even so, come, Lord Jesus! 

2. Another thing that leads to paradise is that 
great work of Jesus Christ, 2 raising the body 
from the dust, and uniting it again unto the soul. 
A wonderful effect of infinite power and love. 
‘Yea, wonderful indeed,” says Unbelief, “if it be 
true. What, shall all these scattered bones and 
dust become a man?” Let me with reverence 
plead for God, for that power whereby I hope to 
arise. What sustains the massy body of the earth ? 
What limits the vast ocean of the waters? Whence 
is that constant ebbing and flowing of the tides? 
How many times larger than all the earth is the 
sun, that glorious body of light? Is it not as easy 
to raise the dead as to make heaven and earth, 
and all of nothing? Look not on the dead bones 
and dust and difficulty, but at the promise. Con- 
tentedly commit these bodies to a prison that shall 
not long contain them. Let us lie down in peace 
and take our rest; it will not be an everlasting 


46 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


night, nor endless sleep. If unclothing be the thing 
thou fearest, it is that thou mayest have better 
clothing. If to be turned out of doors be the thing 
thou fearest, remember, that when ‘the earthly 
house of this tabernacle is dissolved, thou hast a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens.” Lay down cheerfully this 
lump of corruption ; thou shalt undoubtedly receive 
it again in incorruption. Lay down freely this ter- 
restrial, this natural body; thou shalt receive it 
again a celestial, a spiritual body. Though thou 
lay it down with great dishonor, thou shalt receive 
it in glory. Though thou art separated from it 
through weakness, it shall be raised again in mighty 
power; “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shal] 
be changed.” ‘‘ The dead in Christ shall rise first. 
Then they who are alive and remain shall be caught 
up together with them in the clouds to meet the 
Lord in the air.” Triumph now, O Christian, in 
these promises ; thou shalt surely triumph in their 
performance. This is the day which the Lord will 
‘make; we shall rejoice and be glad in it. The 
grave that could not keep our Lord, cannot keep 
us. He arose for us, and by the same power will 
cause us to arise. ‘‘ For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so, them also who sleep 
in Jesus will God bring with him.” Let us never 


ITS PREPARATIVES. eR 


look at the grave, but let us see the resurrection 
beyond it. Yea, let us be “steadfast, unmovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord, foras- 
much as we know that our labor is not in vain in 
the Lord.” 

- 3. Part of this prologue to the saints’ rest is the 
public and solemn process at their judgment, where 
they shall first themselves be acquitted and justi- 
fied, and then with Christ judge the world. \ Young 
and old, of all estates and nations, that ever were 
from the creation to that day, must here come and 
receive their doom. O terrible, O joyful day !— 
terrible to those that have forgotten the coming of 
their Lord ; joyful to the saints, whose waiting and 
hope was to see this day. Then shall the world 
behold the goodness and severity of God: on them 
who perish, severity; but to his chosen, goodness. 
Every one must give an account of his stewardship. 
Every talent of time, health, abilities, mercies, 
afflictions, means, warnings, must be reckoned for. 
The sins of youth, those which they had forgot- 
ten, and their secret sins, shall all be laid open 
before angels and men. They shall see the Lord 
Jesus, whom they neglected, whose word they dis- 
obeyed, whose ministers they abused, whose ser- 
~ vants they hated, now sitting to judge them. Their 
own consciences shall cry out against them, and 
call to their remembrance all their misdoings. 
Which way will the wretched sinner look? Who 


» 


48 THE SAINTS’ REST: 


ean conceive the terrible thoughts of his heart ? 
Now the world cannot help him} his old compan- 
ions cannot; the saints neither can nor will. Only 
the Lord Jesus can ; but there is the misery, he will 
not. Time was, sinner, when Christ would, and 
you would not; now, fain would you, and he will 
-not. All in vain is it to “ery to the mountains and 
rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him 
that sitteth upon the throne ;” for thou hast the 
Lord of mountains and rocks for thine enemy, whose 
voice they will obey, and not thine. 1 charge thee, 
therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who shall judge the quick and the dead at his 
appearing, and his kingdom, that thou set thyself 
seriously to ponder these things. 

But why tremblest thou, O humble, gracious 
soul? He that would not lose one Noah in a com- 
mon deluge, nor overlook one Lot in Sodom; nay, 
that could do nothing till he went forth; will he 
forget thee at that day? ‘‘ The Lord knoweth how 
to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve 
the unjust unto the day of judgment, to be pun- 
ished.” He knoweth how to make the same day 
the greatest terror to his foes, and yet the greatest 
joy to his people. ‘There is no condemnation to 
them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
the flesh, but after the Spirit. Who shall lay any 
thing to the charge of God’s elect?” Shall the 
law? “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ 


¥ 


‘ 


ITS PREPARATIVES., Age 


Jesus hath made them free from the’ law of sin and 
death.” Orshall conscience? ‘The Spirit itself 
beareth witness with their spirit that they are the 
children of God. It is God that justifieth ; who is 
he that condemneth?” If our Judge condemn us 
not, who shall? He that said ‘to the adulterous 
woman, Hath no man condemned thee ? neither do 
1; will say to us, more faithfully than Peter to 
. him, Though all men deny thee, or condemn thee, 
I will not. Having confessed me before men, thee 
“will I also confess before my Father who is in 
heaven.” 

What bane bvedtstehs 3 joy, that our dear Lord, who 
loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be 
our Judge! Will a man fear to be judged by his 
dearest friend, or a wife by her own husband? 
Christian, did Christ come down and suffer, and 
weep, and bleed, and die for thee, and will he now 
condemn thee? Was he judged, condemned, and 
executed in thy stead, and now will he himself 
condemn thee? Hath he done most of the work 
already, i in redeeming, regenerating, sanctifying, and 
preserving thee, and will he now undo all again? 
Well, then, let the terror of that day be never so 
great, surely our Lord can mean no ill to us in all. 
Let it make the devils tremble, and the wicked 
tremble, but it shall make us leap for joy. It must 
affect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and 
happiness, to see the most of the world tremble 

Saints? Rest. 4 . 


J 


Pg 


-. 


* 
t 
50 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


with terror, while we triumph with joy; to hear 
them doomed to everlasting flames, when we are 
proclaimed heirs of the kingdom; to see our neigh- 
bors, that lived in the same town, came to the same 
congregation, dwelt in the same houses, and were 
esteemed more honorable in the world than our- 
selves, now, by the Searcher of hearts, eternally 
separated. This, with the great magnificence and 
dreadfulness of the day, the apostle pathetically 
expresses: ‘It is a righteous thing with God to 
recompense tribulation to them that trouble you ; 
and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when 
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with 
his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance 
on them that know not God, and that obey not the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be pun- 
ished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when 
he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all them that believe, in that day.” 
Yet more: we shall be so far from the dread of 
that judgment, that ourselves shall become the 
judges. Christ will take his people, as it were, 
into commission with himself, and they shall sit 
and approve his righteous judgment. ‘Do ye not 
know that the saints shall judge the world?” Nay, 
‘know ye not that we shall judge angels ?” 1 Cor. 
6:2,3. Were it not for the word of Christ that 
speaks it, this advancement would seem incredible, 


” 


— 


ITS PREPARATIVES. 51 


and the language arrogant. Even Enoch, the 
seventh from Adam, prophesied this, saying, “ Be- 
hold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his 
saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to con- 
vince all that are ungodly among them, of all their 
ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily com- 
mitted, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly 
sinners have spoken against him.” Thus shall the 
saints be honored, and “the upright shall have 
dominion in the morning.” O that the careless 
world ‘were wise, that they understood this, that 
they would consider their latter end ;” that they 
would be now of the same mind as they will be 
when they shall see the heavens pass away with a 
great noise, and the elements melt with fervent 
heat, and the earth also, and the works that are 
therein, burnt up; when all shall be on fire about 
them, and all earthly glory consumed! “For the 
heavens and earth which are now, are reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdi- 
tion of ungodly men. Seeing, then, that all these 
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons 
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godli- 
ness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of 
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire 
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat ?” 

4. The last preparative for the saints’ rest is 
their solemn coronation and receiving the kingdom. 


62 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


For as Christ, their head, is anointed both King 
and Priest, so under him are his people made unto 
God both kings and priests, to reign, and to offer 
praises forever. The crown of righteousness which 
was laid up for them, shall, by the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, be given them at that day. They have 
been faithful unto death, and therefore he will give 
them a crown of life. And according to the im 

provement of their talents here, so shall their rule 
and dignity be enlarged. They are not dignified 
with empty titles, but real dominion. © Christ will 
grant them to sit with him on his throne, and will 
give them power over the nations, even as he 
received of his Father; and he “will give them 
the morning star.” The Lord himself will give 
them possession, with these applauding expressions : 
‘Well done, good and faithful.servant ; thou hast 
been faithful over a few things, I will make thee 
ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of 
thy Lord.” . 

And with this solemn and blessed proclamation 
shall he enthrone them: ‘‘ Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world.” Every word is full 
of life and joy. ‘‘ Come”’—this is the holding forth 
of the golden sceptre to warrant our approach unto 
this glory. Come now as near as you will; fear 
not the Bethshemites’ judgment, for the enmity is 
utterly abolished.. This is not such a “Come” as 


ITS PREPARATIVES. 53 


we were wont to hear: ‘‘Come, take up your cross 
and follow me.” Though that was sweet, yet this 
is much more. ‘Ye blessed’’—blessed indeed, 
when that mouth shall so pronounce us! For 
though the world hath accounted us accursed, and 
we have been ready to account ourselves so, yet 
certainly those that he blesseth are blessed; and 
those only whom he curseth are cursed; and his 
blessing cannot be reversed. ‘Of my Father’’— 
blessed in the Father’s love, as well as the Son’s, 
for they are one. The father hath testified his love 
in their election, donation to Christ, and in the 
sending of Christ, and accepting his ransom, as the 
Son hath also testified his. ‘‘ Inherit’’—no longer 
bondsmen, nor servants only, nor children under 
age, who differ not in possession, but only in title, 
from servants; but now we are heirs of the king- 
dom, and joint-heirs with Christ. “The king- 
dom”’—no less than the kingdom. Indeed, to be 
King of kings and Lord of lords is our Lord’s own 
proper title ; but to be kings, and reign with him, 
is ours. The enjoyment of this kingdom is as the 
light of the sun; each has the whole, and the rest 
none the less. ‘‘ Prepared for you’’—God is the 
Alpha as well as the Omega of our blessedness. 
Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He pre- 
pared the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for _ 
the kingdom. This is the preparation of his coun- 
sel and decree, for the execution whereof Christ 


54 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


was yet to make a further preparation. ‘“ For 
you’’—not for believers only, in general, who, 
without individual persons, are nobody ; but for you 
personally. ‘‘ From the foundation of the world” — 
not only from the promise after Adam’s fall, but 
from eternity. 

Thus we have seen the Christian safely landed 
in Paradise, and conveyed honorably to his rest. 
Now let us a little further, in the next chapter, 
view those mansions, consider their privileges, and 
see whether there be any glory like unto this glory. 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. BS 


CHAPTER III. ; 


THE EXCELLENCIES OF THE SAINTS’ REST. 


}. It is the purchased possession; 2.. A free gift; 3. Peculiar 
to saints; 4. An association with saints and angels; 5. It 
derives its joys immediately from God himself; 6. It will 

be seasonable; 7. Suitable; 8. Perfect, without sin and 
suffering ; 9. And everlasting. 


. Let us draw a little nearer, and see what fur- 
ther excellencies this rest affordeth. The Lord 
hide us in the clefts of the rock, and cover us with 
the hands of indulgent grace, while we approach to 
take this view. : 

1. It is a most singular honor of the saints’ rest, 
to be called the purchased possession ; that is, the 
fruit of the blood of the Son of God; yea, the chief 
fruit, the end and perfection of all the fruits and 
efficacy of that blood. Greater love than this there 
is not, to. lay down the life of the lover. And to 
have this our Redeemer ever before our eyes, and 
the liveliest sense and freshest remembrance of that 
dying, bleeding love, still upon our souls! How 
will it fill our souls with perpetual joy, to think 
that in the streams of this blood we have swum 
through the violence of the world, the snares of 
Satan, the seductions of flesh, the curse of the law, 
the wrath of an offended God, the accusations of a 


56 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


guilty conscience, and the vexing doubts and fears 
of an unbelieving heart, and are arrived safely at 
the presence of God! Now he cries to us, ‘Is it 
nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and 
see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!” 
And we scarce regard the mournful voice—scarce 
turn aside to view the wounds. . But then our per- 
fected souls will feel, and flame in love for love. 
With what astonishing apprehensions will redeemed 
saints everlastingly behold their blessed Redeemer— 
the purchaser, and the price, together with the pos- 
session! Neither will the view of his wounds of 
love renew our wounds of sorrow. -He, whose first 
words after his resurrection were to a great sinner, 
‘‘Woman, why weepest thou ?”’ knows how to raise 
love and joy, without any cloud of sorrow or storm 
of tears. If any thing we enjoy was purchased with 
the life of our dearest friend, how highly should we 
value it. Ifa dying friend deliver us but a token 
of his love, how carefully do we preserve it, and 
still remember him when we behold it, as if his own 
name were written on it. And will not, then, the 
death and blood of our Lord everlastingly sweeten 
our possessed glory? As we write down the price 
our goods cost us, so, on our righteousness and glory 
write down the price—the precious blood of Christ. 
His sufferings were to satisfy the justice that required 
blood, and to bear what was due to sinners, and so 
to restore them to the life they lost, and the happi- 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 57 


ness from which they fell. The work of Christ’s 
redemption so well pleased the Father, that he gave 
him power ,to advance his chosen, and give them 
the glory which was given to himself; and all this 
‘according to his good pleasure and the counsel of 
his own will.” — 

2. Another pearl in the saints’ diadem is, that it 
is a free gift. These two, purchased and free, are 
the chains of gold which make up the wreaths for 
the tops of the pillars in the temple of God. It was 
dear to Christ, but free tous. When Christ was to 
buy, silver and gold were nothing worth; prayers 
and tears could not suffice, nor any thing below his 
blood: but our buying is receiving; we have it 
freely, without money and without price. A thank- - 
ful acceptance of a free acquittance is no paying of 
the debt. Here is all free: if the Father freely 
give the Son, and the Son freely pay the debt ; and 
if God freely accept that way of payment, when he 
might have required it of the principal ; and if both 
Father and Son freely offer us the purchased life on 
our cordial acceptance ; and if they freely send the 
Spirit to enable us to accept; what is here, then, 
that is not free? O the everlasting admiration that 
must surprise the saints to think of this freeness! 
“« What did the Lord see in me, that he should judge 
me meet for such a state; that I, who was but a 
poor diseased, despised wretch, should be clad in 
the brightness of this glory; that I, a creeping 


58 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


worm, should be advanced to this. high dignity ; 
that I, who was but lately groaning, weeping, 
dying, should now be as full of joy as my heart can 
hold ; yea; should be taken from the grave where I 
was decaying, and from the dust and darkness where 
I seemed forgotten, and be here set before his throne; 
that I should be taken, with Mordecai, from cap- 
tivity, and be set next unto the king, and with 
Daniel from the den, to be made ruler of princes 
and provinces? Who can fathom unmeasurable 
love?” If worthiness were our condition for admit- 
tance, we might sit down and weep, with St. John, 
because no man was found worthy. But “the Lion” 
of the tribe of Judah” is worthy, and hath pre- 
vailed ; and ’by that title we must hold the inherit- 
ance. We shall offer there the offering that David 
refused, even praise for that which cost us nothing. 
Here our commission runs, “ Freely ye have received, 
freely give ;” but Christ has dearly bought, yet freely 
gives. | 
If it were only for nothing, and <bithont our merit, 
the wonder were great.; but it is moreover against 
our merit, and against our long endeavoring our 
own ruin. What an astonishing thought it will be, 
to think of the immeasurable difference between 
our deservings and receivings—between the state 
we should have been in, and the state we are in; 
to look down upon hell, and see the vast difference 
that grace hath made between us and them—to see 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 59 


the inheritance there to which we were born, so 
different from that to which we are adopted ! What 
pangs of love will it cause within us to think, “ Yon- 
der was the place that sin would have brought me 
to; but this is it that Christ hath brought me to! 
Yonder death was the wages of my sin, but this 
eternal life is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ 
my Lord. Who made me to differ? Had I not now 
been in those flames if I had had my own way, and 
been let alone to my own will? Should I not have 
lingered in Sodom till the flames had seized on me, 
if God had not in mercy brought me out?” Doubt- 
less this will be our everlasting admiration, that so 
rich a crown should fit the head of so vile a sinner ; 
that such high advancement, and such long unfruit- 
fulness and unkindness, can be the.state of the same 
person, and that such vile rebellions can conclude 
in such most precious joys. But no thanks to us, 
nor to any of our duties and labors, much less to our 
neglects and laziness; we know to whom the praise 
is due, and must be given for ever. Indeed, to this 
very end it was that infinite wisdom cast the whole 
design of man’s salvation into this mould of pur- 
chase and freeness, that the love and joy of man 
might be perfected, and the honor of grace most 
highly advanced; that the thought of merit might 
neither cloud the one nor obstruct the other; and 
that on these two hinges the gate of heaven might 
turn. So then let DESERVED be written on the 


60 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


door of hell; but on the door of heaven and life, 
THE FREE GIFT. 

. This rest is peculiar to sacnts, it ietbiied to no 
Fans of all the sons of men. If all Egypt had been 
light, the Israelites would not have had the less ; 
but-to enjoy that light alone, while their neighbors 
lived in thick darkness, must make them more sensi- 
ble of their privilege. Distinguishing mercy affects 
more than any mercy. If Pharaoh had passed 
as safely as Israel, the Red sea would have been 
less remembered. If the rest of the world had 
not been drowned, and the rest. of Sodom and 
Gomorrah not burned, the saving of Noah had 
been no wonder, nor Lot’s deliverance so much 
talked of. When one is enlightened and another 
left in darkness, one reformed and another by 
his lust enslaved, it makes the saints cry’ out, 
‘Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself 
unto us, and not unto the world?” When the 
.prophet is sent to one widow only of all that 
were in Israel, and to cleanse one Naaman of all 
the lepers, the mercy is more observable. That 
will surely be a day of passionate sense on both 
sides, when there shall be two in one bed, and 
two in the field, the one taken and the other left. 
The saints shall look down upon the burning lake, 
and in the sense of their own happiness, and in 
the approbation of God’s just proceedings, they 
shall rejoice and sing, ‘‘Thou art righteous, O Lord, 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. se 


who wast, art, and shalt be, because thou hast 
judged thus.” 

4. But though this rest be peculiar to the saints, 
yet it is common to all the saints ; for it is an asso- 
ciation of blessed spirits, both saints and angels— 
a corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ is 
the head—the communion of saints completed. As 
we have been together in the labor, duty, danger, 
- and distress, so shall we be in the great recompense 
and deliverance. As we have been scorned and 
despised, so shall we be owned and honored together. 
We who have gone through the day of sadness, shall 
enjoy together that day of gladness. Those who 
have been with us in persecution and in prison, 
shall be with us also in that palace of consolation. 
How oft have our groans made, as it were, one 
sound, our tears one stream, and our desires one 
prayer. But now all our praises shall make up one 
melody, all our churches one church, and all our- 
selves-one body ; for we shall be all one in Christ, 
even as he and the Father are one. It is true, we 
must be careful not to look for that in the saints 
which is alone in:Christ. But if the forethought 
of sitting down with Abraham and Isaac and 
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, may be our lawful 
joy, how much more the real sight and actual pos- 
session? It cannot but be comfortable to think of 
that day when we shall join with Moses in his 
song, with David in his psalms of praise, and with 


f 


62 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


all the redeemed in the song of the Lamb for ever ; 
when we shall see Enoch walking with God, Noah 
enjoying the end of his singularity, Joseph of his 
integrity, Job of his patience, Hezekiah of his 
uprightness, and all the saints the end of their 
faith. Not only our old acquaintance, but all the 
saints of all ages, whose faces in the flesh we never 
saw, we shall there both know and comfortably 
enjoy. Yea, angels as well as saints will be our 
blessed acquaintance. Those who now are will- 
ingly our ministering spirits, will willingly then be 
our companions in joy. They who had such joy in 
heaven for our conversion, will gladly rejoice with 
us in our glorification. Then we shall.truly say, 
as David, I am a companion of all them that fear 
thee; when ‘we are come unto mount Zion, and 
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru- 
salem, and to an innumerable company of angels ; 
to the general assembly and church of the first- 
born, who are written in heaven, and to God the 
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new 
covenant.” It is a singular excellence of heavenly 
rest, that we are “ fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of God.” 

5. As another property of our rest, we shall 
derive vts joys immediately from God. Now we 
have nothing at all immediately, but at the second 
or third hand; or how many, who knows? From 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. —6«663 


the earth, from man, from sun and moon, from the 
ministration of angels, and from the Spirit, and 
Christ. Though, in the hand of angels, the stream 
savors not of the imperfection of sinners, yet it does 
of the imperfection of creatures; and as it comes 
from man, it savors of both. How quick and pierc- 
ing is the word in itself; yet many times it never 
enters, being managed by a feeble arm. What 
weight and worth is there in every passage of the 
blessed gospel; enough, one would think, to enter 
and pierce the dullest soul, and wholly possess its 
thoughts and affections; and yet how oft does it 
fall as water upon a stone. The things of God 
which we handle are divine, but our manner of 
handling is human. There is little we touch but 
we leave the print of our fingers behind. If God 
speaks the word himself, it will be a piercing, melt- 
ing word indeed. The Christian now knows, by 
experience, that his most immediate joys are his 
sweetest joys; which have least of man, and are ~ 
most directly from the Spirit. Christians who are 


much in secret prayer and contemplation, are men — 


of greatest life and joy, because they have all more 
immediately from God himself. Not that we should 
cast off hearing, reading, and conference, or neglect 
any ordinance of God ; but to.live above them while 
we use them, is the way of a Christian. There is 
joy in these remote receivings, but the fulness of 
joy is in God’s immediate presence. We shall then 


“g oe 
6a THE SAINTS?’ REST. . 


have light without a candle, and perpetual day 
without the sun, for ‘the city has no need of the 
sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory 
of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof: 
there shall be no night there, and they need no 
candle, neither tive of the sun; and they shall reign 
for ever and ever.” We shall then have enlightened 
understandings without Scripture, and be governed 
without a written law; for the Lord will perfect his 
law in our hearts, and we shall be all perfectly 
taught of God. We shall have joy which we drew 
_ not from the promises, nor fetched home by faith or 
hope. We shall have communion without ordi- 
nances, without this fruit of the vine, when Christ 
shall drink it new with us in his Father’s kingdom, 
and refresh us with the comforting wine of imme- 
diate enjoyment. To have necessities, but no sup- 
ply, is the state of them in hell. To have necessity 
supplied by means of creatures, is the state of us 
on earth. To have necessity supplied immediately 
from God, is the state of the saintsin heaven. To 
have no necessity at all, is the prerogative of God 
himself. 

6. A further ballet of this rest is, that it will 
be seasonable. He that expects the fruit of his vine- 
yard at the season, and makes his people “ like a 
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth 
forth his fruit in his season,” will also give them the 
crown in his season.. He that will have a word of 


a 


> , y 2 By 
— 

‘ 4 
f ” 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 65 


joy spoken in season to him that is weary, will 
surely cause the time of joy to appear in the fittest 
season. They who are not weary in well-doing, 
shall, if they faint not, reap in due season. If God 
giveth rain even to his enemies, both the former and 
the latter in its season, and reserveth the appointed 
weeks: of harvest, and covenants that there shall be 
day and might in their season, then surely the glo- 
rious harvest of the saints shall not miss its season. 
Doubtless, ie who would not stay a day longer than 
his promise, but brought Israel out of Egypt on the 
selfsame day when the four hundred and thirty 
years expired, neither will he fail of one day or hour 
of the fittest season for his people’s glory. When 
we have-had in this world a long night of darkness, 
will not the day-breaking and the rising of the Sun 
of righteousness be then seasonable? When we 
have passed a long and tedious journey through no 
small dangers, is not home then seasonable? When 
we have.had a long and perilous war, and received 
many a wound, would not a peace, with victory, be 
seasonable? Men live in a continual weariness, 
especially the saints, who are most weary of that 
which the world cannot feel: some weary of a 
blind mind, some of a hard heart, some of their 
daily doubts and fears, some of the want of spiritual 
joys, and some of the sense of God’s wrath. And 
when a poor Christian hath desired, and prayed, 
and waited for deliverance many years, is it not 
Baints’ Rest. 5 


66 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


then seasonable? We lament that we do not find 
a Canaan in the wilderness, or the songs of Sion in 
a strange land—that we have not a harbor in the 
main ocean, nor our rest in the heat of the day, nor 
heaven before we leave the earth ; and would not 
all this be very unseasonable ? 

7. As this rest will be seasonable, so it will be 
suitable. The new nature of the ‘saints doth suit 
their spirits to this rest. Indeed, their holiness is 
nothing else but a spark taken from this element, 
and by the Spirit of Christ kindled in their hearts: 
the flame whereof, mindful of its own divine orig- 
inal, ever tends to the place from whence it comes. 
Temporal crowns and kingdoms could not make a 
rest for saints. As they were not redeemed with so 
low a price, neither are they endued with so low a 
nature. As God will have from them a spiritual 
worship suited to his own spiritual being, he will 
provide them a spiritual rest suitable to their spir- 
itualnature. The knowledge of God and his Christ, 
a delightful complacency in that mutual love, an 
everlasting rejoicing in the enjoyment of our God, 
with a perpetual singing of his high praises ; this is 
heaven for a saint. Then we shall live in our own 
element. We are now as the fish in a vessel-of 
water, only so much as will keep them alive; but 
what is that to the ocean? We have a little air 
let in to us, to afford us breathing; but what is that 
to the sweet and fresh gales upon mount Sion? We 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 67 


have a beam of the sun to lighten our darkness, and 
a warm ray to keep us from freezing ; but then we 
shall live in its light, and be revived by its heat for 
ever. As are the natures of the saints, such are their 
desires; and it is the desires of our renewed nature 
to which this rest is suited. While our desires 
remain corrupted and misguided, it is a far greater 
mercy to deny them, yea, to destroy them, than to 
satisfy them ; but those which are spiritual are of 
his own planting, and he will surely water them, 
and give the increase. He quickened our hunger 
and thirst for righteousness, that he might make us 
happy in a full satisfaction. Christian, this is a 
- rest after thy own heart; it contains all that thy 
heart can wish; that which thou longest, prayest, 
laborest for, there thou shalt find it all. Thou 
hadst rather have God in Christ than all the world ; 
there thou shalt have him. What wouldst thou 
not give for assurance of his love? There thou 
shalt have assurance without suspicion. Desire 
what thou canst, and ask what thou, wilt, as a 
Christian, and it shall be given thee, not only to 
half of the kingdom, but to the enjoyment both of 
kingdom and King. This is a life of desire and 
prayer, but that is a hfe of satisfaction and enjoy- 
ment. This rest is very suitable to the saints’ 
necessities also, as well as to their natures and 
desires. It contains whatsoever they truly wanted ; 
not supplying them with gross, created comforts, 


68 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


which, like Saul’s armor on David, are more burden 
than benefit. It was Christ and perfect holiness 
which they most needed, and with these shall they 
be supplied. 

8. Still more, this rest will be absolutely perfect. 
We shall then have joy without sorrow, and rest 
without weariness. There is no mixture of corrup- 
tion with our graces, nor of suffering with our com- 
fort. There are none of those waves in that har- 
bor, which now so toss us up and down. To-day 
we are well, to-morrow sick; to-day in esteem, 
to-morrow in disgrace ; to-day we have friends, to- 
morrow none; nay, we have wine and vinegar in 
the same cup. If revelations raise us to the third 
heaven, the messenger of Satan must presently 
buffet us, and the thorn in the flesh fetch us down. 
But there is none of this inconstancy in heaven. If 
perfect love casteth out fear, then perfect joy must 
cast out sorrow, and perfect happiness exclude all 
the relics of misery. We shall there rest from all 
the evil of sin and of suffering. | 

Heaven excludes nothing more directly than sz, 
whether of nature or of conversation. ‘ There shall 
in no wise enter any thing that defileth, neither 
‘whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.” 
What need Christ at all to have died, if heaven 
could have contained imperfect souls? ‘For this 
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he 
might destroy the works of the devil.” His blood 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 69 


and Spirit have not done all this to leave us, after 
all, defiled. ‘“ What communion hath light with 
darkness? and what concord hath Christ with 
Belial?” Christian, if thou be once in heaven, 
thou shalt sin no more. Is not this glad news to 
thee, who hast prayed and watched against sin so 
long? I know, if it were offered to thy choice, 
thou wouldst rather choose to be freed from sin, 
than ‘have all the world. Thou shalt have thy de- 
sire. That hard heart, those vile thoughts, which 
accompanied thee to every duty, shall then be left 
behind ‘for ever. Thy understanding shall never 
more be troubled with darkness. All dark scrip- 
tures shall be made plain; all seeming contradic- 
tions reconciled. The poorest Christian is presently 
there a more perfect divine than any here. O that 
happy day, when error shall vanish for ever ; when 
our understanding shall be filled with God himself, 
whose light will leave no darkness in us. His face 
shall be the scripture where we shall read the 
truth. Many a godly man here, in his mistaken 
zeal, has been the means of deceiving and pervert- 
ing his brethren ; and, when he sees his own error, 
eannot tell how to undeceive them: But there we 
shall join in one truth, as being one in Him who is 
the truth. We shall also rest from all the sin of 
our will, affections, and conversation. We shall no 
more retain this rebelling principle, which is still 
drawing us from God; no more be oppressed with 


70 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the power of our corruptions, nor vexed with their 
presence : no pride, passion, slothfulness, insensi- 
bility, shall enter with us; no strangeness to God, 
and the things of God; no coldness of affections, 
nor imperfection in our love; no inconstant walk- 
ing, nor grieving of the Spirit; no scandalous ac- 
tion, nor unholy conversation: we shall rest from 
all these for ever. Then shall our will correspond 
to the divine will, as face answers face-in a glass, 
and from which, as our law and rule, we shall 
never swerve. ‘For he that has entered into his 
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as 
God did from his.” 

Our sufferings were but the consequences of our 
sinning, and in heaven they both shall cease to- 
gether. 

We shall rest from all our doubts of God’s love. 
It shall no more be said that ‘doubts are like the 
thistle, a bad weed, but growing in good ground.” 
They shall now be weeded out, and trouble the 
gracious soulno more. We shall hear that kind of 
language no more, ‘‘ What shall I do to know my 
state? How shall I know that God is my Father; 
that my heart is upright; that my conversion is 
true; that faith is sincere? I am/afraid my sits 
are unpardoned; that all I do is hypocrisy; that 
God will reject me; that he does not hear my 
prayers.’ All this is there turned into praise. 

We shall rest from all sense of God’s displeasure. 


~ 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. . 


Hell shall not be mixed with heaven. At times 
the gracious soul.remembered God, and was troub- 
led ; complained, and was overwhelmed, and refused 
to be comforted ; divine wrath lay hard upon him, 
and God afllicted him: with all his waves. But 
that blessed day shall convince us, that though 
God hid his face from us for a moment, yet with 
everlasting kindness will he have mercy on us. 

We shall rest from all the temptations of Satan. 
What a grief is it to a Christian, though he yield 
not to the temptation, yet to be solicited to deny 
his Lord. What a-torment to-have such horrid 
suggestions made to his soul, such blasphemous 
ideas presented to his imagination: sometimes cruel 
thoughts of God, undervaluing thoughts of Christ, 
unbelieving thoughts of Scripture, or injurious 
thoughts of Providence ;. to be tempted sometimes 
to turn to present things, to play with the baits of 
sin, and venture on the delights of flesh, and some- 
times on atheism itself; especially when-we know 
the treachery of our own hearts, ready as tinder to 
take fire as soon ‘as one of those sparks shall fall 
upon, them. Satan hath power here. to tempt us 
in the wilderness, but he entereth not the holy 
city ; he may set us on a pinnacle of the temple in 
the earthly Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalem he 
may not approach; he may take us up into an 
exceeding high mountain, but the mount Sion he 
eannot ascend; and if-he could, all ‘the kingdoms 


72 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of the world, and the-glory of them, would be a 
despised bait to the soul possessed of the kingdom 
of our Lord. No, it is in vain for Satan to offer a 
temptation more. ‘ 

All our temptations from the world and the flesh 
shall also cease. Oh the hourly dangers that we 
here walkin. Every sense and member isa snare; 
every creature, every’ mercy, and every duty is a 
snare tous. We can scarce open our eyes, but we 
are in danger of envying those above us, or despis- 
ing those below us; of coveting the honors and 
riches of some, or -beholding the rags and beggary 
of others. with: pride and unmercifulness. If we 
see beauty, it is a bait to lust; if deformity, to 
loathing and disdain. How soon do slanderous re- 
ports, vain jests, wanton speeches, creep into the 
heart. How constant and strong a watch does our 
appetite require. Have we comeliness and beauty? 
what fuel for pride. Are we deformed? what an 
occasion of repining. Have we strength of reason 
and gifts of learning? O how prone to be puffed up, 
hunt after applause, and despise our brethren. Are 
we unlearned? how apt then to despise what we 
have not. Are we in places- of authority? how 
strong is the temptation to abuse our trust, make 
our will our law, and mould all the enjoyments of 
others by the rules and model of our own interest 
and policy. Are we inferiors ? how prone to envy 
others’ preéminence, and bring their actions to the 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 73 


bar of our judgment. Are we rich, and not: too 
much exalted?- Are we poor, and not discontented ? 
Are we not lazy in our duties, or make a Christ of 
them? Not that God hath made these things our 
snares; but through our own corruption they bé- 
come so to us. Ourselves are the greatest snares 
to ourselves. This is our comfort: our rest will 
free us from allthese. As Satan hath no entrance 
there, so he has nothing to serve his malice; but 
all things there shall join with us in the high 
praises of our great Deliverer. ‘ 

As we rest from-the temptations, so shall we rest 
from the abuses and persecutions of the world. The 
prayers of the souls under the altar will then be 
answered, and God will avenge their blood on them 
that dwell on the earth. This is the time for 
crowning with thorns; that, for crowning with 
glory. Now, “all that will live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution;’ then, they that 
suffered with him, shall be glorified with him. 
Now, we must be hated of all men for Christ’s 
sake ; then, Christ will be admired in his saints 
that were thus hated. We are here made a spec- 
tacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men; 
as the filth of the world and the ofiscouring of all 
things, men separate us from their company, and 
reproach us, and cast out our names as evil: but 
we shall then be as much gazed at for our glory ; 
and they will be shut out of the church of the 


74 THE SAINTS’ REST 


saints, and separated from us, whether they will or 
not. We can now scarce pray in our famihes or 
sing praises to God, but our voice is a vexation to 
them: how must it torment them, then, to see us 
praising and rejoicing, while they are howling and 
lamenting. You, brethren, who can now attempt 
no work of God without losing the love of the 
world, consider, you shall have none in heaven but 
will further your work, and join heart and voice 
with you in your everlasting joy and praise. Till 
then, possess ye your souls in patience. Bind all 
reproaches as a.crown to your heads. Hsteem them 
greater riches than the world’s treasures. ‘It isa 
righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation 
to them that trouble you; and to you who are 
troubled, rest with Christ.” | 

We shall then rest from all our sad deviszons and 
unchristian quarrels with one another. How lov- 
ingly do thousands live together in heaven, who 
lived at variance upon earth. There is no conten- 
tion, because none of this pride, ignorance, or other 
corruption. There is no.plotting to strengthen our 
party, nor deep designing against our brethren. If 
there be sorrow or shame in heaven, we shall then 
be both sorry and ashamed to remember all this 
conduct on earth, as. Joseph’s brethren were to 
behold him, when they remembered their former 
unkind usage. Is it not enough that all the world 
is against us, but we must also be against one 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 15 


another? O happy days of persecution, which 
drove us together in love, whom the sunshine of 
liberty and prosperity crumbles into dust by our 
contentions! O happy day of the saints’ rest in 
glory, when, as there is one God, one Christ, one 
Spirit, so we shall have one heart, one church, one 
employment for ever ! . 

We shall then rest from our participation of owr 
brethren’s sufferings. The church on earth is a 
mere hospital: some groaning under a dark under- 
standing, some under an insensible heart, some 
languishing under unfruitful weakness, and some 
bleeding for miscarriages and wilfulness ; some cry- 
ing out of their poverty, some groaning under pains 
and infirmities, and some bewailing a whole cata- 
logue of calamities. But a far greater grief it is, to 
see our dearest and most intimate friends turned 
aside from the truth of Christ, continuing their 
neglect of Christ and their souls, and nothing will 
awaken them out of their security: to look on an 
ungodly father or mother, brother or sister, wife or 
husband, child or friend, and think how certainly 
they shall be in hell for ever, if they die in their 
present unregenerated state ; to think of the gospel 
departing, the glory taken frem our Israel, poor 
souls left willingly dark and destitute, and blow- 
ing out the hght that should guide them to salva- 
tion. Our day of rest will free us from all this, and 
the days of mourning shall be ended. Then thy 


76 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


people, O Lord, shall be all righteous; they shall 
inherit the land for ever, the branch of thy plant- 
ing, the work of thy hands, that thou mayest be 
glorified. 

Then we shall rest from all our own personal 
sufferings. This may seem a small thing to those 
that live in ease and prosperity, but to the daily 
afflicted soul it makes the thoughts of heaven de- 
lightful. O the dying life we now live; as full of 
sufferings as.of days and hours! Our Redeemer 
leaves this measure of misery upon us, to make us 
know for what we are beholden, to remind us of 
what we should else forget, to be serviceable to his 
wise and gracious designs, and advantageous to our 
full and final recovery. Grief enters at every sense, 
seizes every part and power of flesh and spirit. 
What noble part is there that suffereth its pain or 
ruin alone? But sin and flesh, dust and pain, will 
all be left behind together. O the blessed tranquil- 
lity of that region, where there is nothing but sweet 
continued peace! O healthful place, where none 
are sick! O fortunate land, where all are kings! 
O holy assernbly, where all are priests! How free 
astate, where none are servants but to their supreme 
Monarch! The poor man shall no more be tired 
with his labors: no more hunger or thirst, cold or 
nakedness: no pinching frosts or scorching heats. 
Our faces shall no more be pale or sad; no more 
breaches in friendship, nor parting of friends asun- 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 77 


der; no more trouble accompanying our relations, 
nor voice of lamentation heard in our dwellings: 
God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. O 
my soul, bear with the infirmities of thine earthly 
tabernacle; it will be thus but a little while; 
the sound of thy Redeemer’s feet is even at the 
door. 3 

We shall also rest from all the tozls of duttes. 

The conscientious magistrate, parent, and minister 

cries out, “O the burden that lieth upon me!” 
Every relation, state, age, hath variety of duties ; 
so that every conscientious Christian cries out, ‘‘O 
the burden! O my weakness, that makes it burden- 
some!” But our remaining rest will ease us of the 
burdens. 7 

Once more, we shall rest from all these trouble- 
some afflictions which necessarily aceompany our 
absence from God. “The trouble that is mixed in 
our desires and hopes, our longings and waitings, 
shall then cease. We shall no more look into our 
cabinet and miss our treasure—into our hearts, and 
miss our Christ ; no more seek him from ordinance 
to ordinance; but all be concluded in a most blessed 
and full enjoyment. 

9. The last jewel of our crown is, that it will be 
an everlasting rest. Without this. all were com- 
paratively nothing. The very thought of leaving 
it would imbitter all our joys. It would be a hell 
in heaven, to think of once losing heaven ; as it 


78 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


would be a kind of heaven to the damned, had they 
but hope of once escaping. Mortality is the dis- 
grace of all sublunary delights. How it spoils our 
pleasure to see it dying in our hands. But, O 
blessed eternity, where our lives are perplexed with 
no such thoughts, nor our joys interrupted with any 
such fears ; where ‘‘ we shall be pillars in the temple 
of God, and go no more out!” While we were ser- 
vants, we held by lease, and that but for the term of 
a transitory life; ‘but the son abideth in the house 
for ever.”’ ‘‘O my soul, let go thy dreams of pres- 
ent pleasure, and loose thy -hold of earth and flesh. 
Study frequently, study thoroughly this one word— 
eternity. What, live and never die; rejoice, and 
ever rejoice?” O happy souls in hell, should you 
but escape after millions of ages! O miserable 
saints in heaven, should you be dispossessed after 
the age of a million of worlds! This word, ever 
lastung, contains the perfection of their torment 
and our glory. O that the sinner would study 
this word; methinks it would startle him out of 
his dead-sleep. O that the gracious soul would 
study it; methinks it would revive-him in. his 
deepest agony. ‘And must I, Lord, thus live 
for ever? Then will I also , a for ever. Must 
my joys be immortal; and shall not my thanks 
be also immortal? Surely, if I shall never lose 
my glory, I will never cease thy praises. If thou _ 
wilt both perfect and perpetuate me and my glory, 


ITS EXCELLENCIES. 79 


as I shall be thine, and not my own, so shall my 
glory be thy glory. And as thy glory was thy ulti- 
mate end in my glory, so shall it also be my end, 
when thou hast crowned me with that glory which 
hath no end. ‘Unto the King eternal, immortal, 
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, for 
ever and ever.’””’ 

Thus I have endeavored to show you a glimpse 
of approaching glory. But how short are my ex- 
pressions of its excellency. Reader, if thou be an 
humble, sincere believer, and waitest with longing 
and laboring for this rest, thou wilt shortly see and 
feel the truth of all this. Thou wilt then have so 
high an impression of this blessed state as will make 
thee pity the ignorance and distance of mortals, and 
will tell thee all that is here said falls short of the 
whole truth a thousand-fold.- In the mean time, 
let this much kindle thy desires, and quicken thy 
endeavors. Up and be doing; run and strive and 
fight, and hold on, for thou hast a certain glorious 
prize before thee. God will not mock thee; do not 
mock thyself, nor betray thy soul by delaying, and 
all is thine own. What kind of-men, dost thou 
think, would Christians be in their_lives and duties, 
if they had still this ‘glory fresh in their thoughts ; 
what frame would their spirits be in, if their 
thoughts of heaven were lively and_ believing? 
Would their hearts be so heavy, their countenances 
so sad; or would they have need to take up their 


80 THE ‘SAINTS’ REST. 


comforts from below? Would they be so loath to 
suffer, so afraid to die; or*would they not think 
every day a year till they enjoy it? May the Lord 
heal our carnal hearts, lest we ‘‘ enter not into this 
rest because of unbelief.” 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. oe 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSONS FOR WHOM THIS 
REST IS DESIGNED, 


The people of God who shall enjoy this rest, are, 1. Chosen 
from eternity ; 2. Given to Christ ; 3. Born again; 4. Deeply 
convinced of the evil of sin, their misery by sin, the vanity 
of the creature, and the all-sufficiency of Christ; 5. Their 
will is proportionably changed; 6. They engage in covenant 
with Christ ; 7. They persevere in their engagements. The 
reader invited to examine himself by these characteristics 
of God’s people. Further testimony from Scripture, that 
this rest shall be enjoyed by the people of God: also that 
none but they shall enjoy it; and that it remains for them, 
and is not to be enjoyed till they come to another world. 
The chapter concludes with showing, that their souls shall 
enjoy this rest while separated from their bodies. 


Wuute I was in the mount, describing the excel- 
lencies of the saints’ rest, I felt it was good. being 
there, and therefore tarried the longer; and were 
there not an extreme disproportion between my con- 
ceptions and the subject, much longer had I been. 
Can a prospect of that happy land be tedious? Hav- 
ing read of such high and unspeakable glory, a 
stranger would wonder for what rare creatures this 
mighty preparation should be made, and expect 
som? illustrious sun should break forth: but, behold, 
only a shellful of dust, animated with an invisible 

Saints’ Rest. : 6 


§2 THE SAINTS’ REST. = 


rational soul, and that rectified with as unseen a 
restoring power of grace; and this is the creature 
that must possess such glory! You would think it 
must needs be some deserving piece, or one that 
brings a valuable price: but, behold one that hath 
nothing and can deserve nothing ; yea, that deserves 
the contrary, and would, if he might, proceed in that 
deserving : but, being apprehended by love, he is 
brought to Him that is all; and most affectionately 
receiving him, and resting on him, he doth, in and 
through him, receive all this. More particularly, 
the persons for whom this rest is designed are chosen 
of God from eternity ; given to Christ as their Re- 
deemer ; born again; deeply convineed of the evil 
and misery of a ginfal state, the vanity of the erea- 
ture, and the all-sufficieney of Christ; their will 
Is renewed ; they engage themselves to Christ in 
covenant ; and they persevere in their engagements 
to the ori. 

1. The persons for whom this rest is Rcceteads 
whom the text calls “the people of God,” are 
“chosen of God before the foundation of the werld, 
that they should be holy and without blame before 
him in love.’ That they are but a part of man- 
kind is apparent in Seripture and experience. They 
are the little flock, to whom “it is their Father’s 
good pleasure to give the kingdom.” Fewer they 
are than the world imagines; yet not so few as some 
drooping spirits think, who are suspicious that God 


a 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 83 


is unwilling to be their God, when they know them- 
selves willing to be his people. 

2. These persons are given of God to his Son, 
to be by him redeemed from their lost state, and 
advanced to this glory. God hath given all things 
to his Son, but not as he hath given his chosen to 
him. ‘God hath given him power over all flesh, 
that he should give eternal life to as many as the 
Father hath given him.” The difference is clearly 
expressed by the apostle: ‘‘ He hath put all things 
under his feet, and gave him to be the head over 
all things to the church.” And though Christ is, 
in some sense, a ransom for all, yet not in that 
special manner as for his people. 

3. One great qualification of these persons is, that 
they are born again. To be the people of God 
without regeneration, is as impossible as to be the 
children of men without generation. Seeing we 
are born God’s enemies, we must be new-born his 
sons, or else remain enemies still. The greatest 
reformation of life that can be attained without 
this new life wrought in the soul, may procure our 
further delusion, but never our salvation. 

4. This new life in the people of God pee 
itself by conviction, or a deep sense of divine 
things. 

- They are convinced of the evil of sin. The sin- 
ner is made to know and feel that the sin which 
was his delight, is a more loathsome thing than a 


8 


84 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


toad or serpent, and a greater evil than plague or 
famine ; being a breach of the righteous law of the 
most high God, dishonorable to him, and destructive 
to the sinner. Now the sinner no more hears the 
reproofs of sin as words of course; but the mention 
of his sin speaks to his very heart, and yet he is 
willing you should show him the worst. He was 
wont to marvel what made men keep up such a 
stir against sim—what harm it was for a man to 
take a little forbidden pleasure; he saw no such 
heinousness in it that Christ must needs die for it, 
and a christless world be eternally tormented in 
hell. Now the case is altered; God hath opéned 
his eyes to see the inexpressible vileness of sin. 
They are convinced of their own misery by reason 
of sin. They who before read the threats of God’s 
law as men do the story of foreign wars, now find 
it their own story, and perceive they read their own 
doom, as if they found their own names written in 
the curse, or heard the law say, as Nathan, “Thou 
art the man.” The wrath of God seemed to him 
before but as a storm to a man in a dry house, or 
as the pains of the sick to the healthful .stander-by ; 
but now he finds the disease is his own, and feels 
himself a condemned man: that he is dead and 
damned in point of law, and that nothing is want- 
ing but mere execution to make him absolutely and 
irrecoverably miserable. This is a work of the 
Spirit, wrought in some measure in all the regener- 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 85 


ate. How should he come to Christ for pardon, who 
did not first find himself guilty and condemned; or 
for life, who never found himself spiritually dead ? 
‘‘The whole need not a physician, but they that are 
sick.” The discovery of the remedy as soon as the 
misery, must needs prevent a great part of the trouble. 
And perhaps the joyful apprehensions of mercy may 
make the sense of misery sooner forgotten. — 

They are also convinced of the creature’s vanity 
and insufficiency. \Every man is naturally. an 
idolater.. Our hearts turned from God in our first 
fall; and, ever since, the creature hath been our 
god. This is the grand sin of our nature. Every 
unregenerate man ascribes to the creature divine 
prerogatives, and allows it the highest room in his 
soul; or, if he is convinced of misery, he flies to it 
as his saviour. Indeed, God and his Christ shall be 
called Lord and Saviour; but the real expectation 
is from the creature, and the work of God is laid 
upon it. Pleasure, profit, and honor, are the natural 
man’s trinity ; and his carnal self is these in unity. 
It was our first sin to aspire to be as gods; and it 
is the greatest sin that is propagated in our nature 
from generation to generation. When God should 
guide us, we guide ourselves; when he should be 
our Sovereign, we rule ourselves: the laws which 
he gives us, we find fault with, and would correct; 
and, if we had the making of them, we would have 
made them otherwise: when he should take care 


86 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of us—and must, or we perish—we will take care 
for ourselves: when we should depend on him in 
daily receiving, we had rather have our portion in 
our own hands: when we should submit to his 
providence, we usually quarrel with it, and think 
we could make a better disposal than God hath 
made. When we should study and love, trust and 
honor God, we study and love, trust and honor our 
carnal selves. Instead of God, we would have all 
men’s eyes and dependence on us, and all men’s 
thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the only 
men on earth extolled and admired by all. Thus 
we are naturally our own idols. But down falls 
this Dagon when God once renews the soul. It is 
the chief design of that great work to bring the 
heart back to God himself. He convinceth the sin- 
ner that the creature can neither be his God, to 
make him happy, nor his Christ, to recover him 
from his misery and restore him to God, who is his 
happiness. (rod does this not only by his word, but 
also by his providence. This is the reason why 
affliction so frequently concurs in the work of con- 
version. Arguments which speak to the quick, will 
force a hearing when the most powerful words are 
slighted. Ifa sinner made his credit his god, and 
God cast him into the lowest disgrace, or bring him. 
who idolized his riches, into a condition wherein 
they cannot help him, or cause them to take wing 
and fly away, what a help is here to this work of 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 87 


conyiction! Jfaman made pleasure his god, what- 
soever a roving eye, a curious ear, a greedy appe- 
tite, or a lustful heart.could desire, and God take 
these from him, or turn them into gall and worm- 
wood, what a help is here to conviction! When 
God casts a man-into languishing sickness, and 
inflicts wounds on his heart, and stirs up against 
him his own conscience, and then, as it were, says 
to him, ‘‘ Try if your credit, riches, or pleasures can 
help you. Can they heal your wounded conscience ? 
Can they now support your tottering tabernacle ? 
Can they keep your departing soul in your body, or 
save you from my everlasting wrath, or redeem 
your soul from eternal flames? Cry aloud to them, 
and see now whether these will be to you instead 
of God and Christ.’ O how this works now with 
the sinner! Sense acknowledges the truth, and 
even the flesh is convinced of the creature’s vanity, 
and our very deceiver is undeceived. 

The people of God are likewise convinced of the 
absolute necessity, the full sufficiency, and perfect 
eaxcellency of Jesus Christ: as a man in famine is 
convinced of the necessity of food; or a man that 
has heard or read his sentence of condemnation, of 
the absolute necessity of pardon; or a man that 
lies in prison for debt, of his need of a surety to dis- 
charge it. Now the sinner feels an-insupportable 
burden upon him, and sees there is none but Christ 
can take it off: he perceives the law proclaims 


88 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


him a rebel, and none but Christ can make his 
peace: he is as a man pursued by a lion, that 
must perish if he finds not @ present sanctuary: 
he is now brought to this dilemma ; either he must 
have Christ to justify him, or be eternally con- 
demned—have Christ to save him, or burn in hell 
for ever—have Christ to bring him to God, or be 
shut out of his presence everlastingly! And no 
wonder if he cry as the martyr, ‘‘ None but Christ, 
none but Christ!’ Not gold, but bread, will satisfy 
the hungry; nor will any thing but pardon comfort 
the condemned. Vv {on 

All things are counted but dung now, “that a 
may win Christ; and what was gain he counts loss 
for Christ. As the sinner sees his misery, and the 
inability of himself and all things to relieve him, so 
he perceives there is no saving mercy out of Christ. 
He sees that though the creature cannot, and him- 
self cannot, yet Christ can help him. Though the 
fig-leaves of our own unrighteous righteousness are 
too short to cover our nakedness, yet the righteous- 
ness of Christ is large enough: ours is’ dispropor- 
tionate to the justice of the law, but Christ’s extends 
to every tittle. If he intercede, there is no denial ; 
such is the dignity of his person and the-value of his 
merits, that the Father grants all he desires. Be- 
fore, the sinner knew Christ’s excellency as a blind 
man knows the light of the sun; but now, as one 


that beholds its glory. 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 89 


» 6. After this deep conviction, the will manifests 
also its change. As, for instance, the sin which the 
understanding pronounces evil, the will turns from 
with abhorrence. Not that the sensitive appetite 
is changed, or any way made to abhor its object ; 
but when it would prevail against reason, and carry 
us to sin against God, instead of scripture being the 
rule, and reason the master, and sense the servant, 
this disorder and evil the will abhors. The misery, 
also, which sin hath procured, is not only discerned, 
but bewailed. It is impossible that the soul should 
now. look either on its trespass against God, or yet 
on its.own self-procured calamity, without some con- 
trition. He that truly discerns that he hath killed 
Christ, and killed himself, will surely in some meas- 
ure be pricked to the heart. If he cannot weep, he 
can heartily groan; and his heart feels what his 
understanding sees. The creature is renounced as 
vanity, and turned out of the heart with disdain: 
not that it is undervalued, or the use of it con- 
demned, but its idolatrous abuse and its unjust 
usurpation. Can Christ be the way, where the 
creature is the end? Can we seek Christ to recon- 
cile us to God, while in our hearts we prefer the 
creature before him? In the soul of every unre- 
generate man the creature is both God and Christ. 
As turning from the creature to God, and not by 
Christ, is no true turning ;_so believing in Christ, 
while the creature hath our hearts, is no true be- 


90 THE SAINTS’ REST. — 


lieving. Our aversion from sin, renouncing our 
idols, and our right receiving Christ, is all but one 
work, which God ever perfects where he begins. 
At the same time, the will cleaves to God the Father, 
and to Christ. Having been convinced that nothing 
else can be his happiness, the sinner now finds it 
is in God. Convinced also that Christ alone is 
able and willing to make peace for him, he most 
affectionately accepts of ‘Christ as his Saviour and 
Lord. Paul’s preaching was “repentance towards 
God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
And life eternal consists, first in ‘‘ knowing the only 
true God,’ and then *‘ Jesus Christ, whom he hath 
sent.” To take the Lord for our God is the natural 
part of the covenant ; the supernatural part is, to 
take Christ for our Redeemer. The former is first 
necessary, and implied in the latter. To accept 
Christ without affection and love, is not justifying 
faith: nor does love follow as a fruit, but imme- 
diately concurs; for faith is the receiving of Christ 
with the whole soul. ‘He that loveth father or 
mother more than Christ,” is not worthy of him, nor 
is justified by him. Faith accepts him as Saviour 
and Lord; for in both relations will he be received; 
or not at all. Faith not only acknowledges his suf-_ 
ferings, and accepts of pardon and glory, but acknow- 
ledges his sovereignty, and submits to his govern- 
ment and way of salvation. 

6. As an essential part of the character of God's 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 91 


people; they now enter tnto a cordial covenant with 
Christ. The smner was never strictly nor com 
fortably in covenant with Christ till now. He is 
sure, by the free offers, that Christ consents ; and 
now he cordially consents himself; and so the agree- 
ment is fully made. With this covenant Christ 
delivers himself up in all comfortable relations to 
the sinner; and the sinner delivers himself to be 
saved and ruled by Christ. Now the soul reso- 
lutely concludes, ‘I have been blindly led by flesh 
and lust, by the world and the devil, too long, 
almost to my utter destruction; I will now be 
wholly at the disposal of my Lord, who hath 
bought me with his speci and will bring me to 
his glory.”’ 

7. Ladd, that the people of God persevere im 
this covenant to the end. Though the believer 
may be tempted, yet he never disclaims ‘his Lord, 
renounces his allegiance, nor repents of his cove- 
nant; nor can he properly be said to break that 
covenant, while that faith continues which is the 
condition of it: Indeed, those that have verbally 
covenanted, and not cordially, may tread under foot 
the blood of the’ covenant, wherewith they were 
sanctified, as an unholy thing, by separation from 
those without the church; but the elect cannot be 
so deceived. Though this perseverance be certain 
to true believers, yet it is made a condition of their 
salvation ; yea, of their continued life and fruitful- 


92 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


ness, and of the continuance of their justification, 
though not of their first justification itself. But 
eternally blessed be that hand of love which hath 
drawn the free promise, and subscribed and sealed 
to that which ascertains us both of the grace which 
is the condition, and the kingdom which on that 
condition is offered. 

Such are the essentials of this people of God. Not 
a full portraiture of them in all their excellencies, 
nor all the marks whereby they may be discerned. 
I beseech thee, reader, as thou hast the hope of a 
Christian, or the reason of a man, judge thyself as 
one that must shortly be judged by a righteous God, 
and faithfully answer these questions, I will not 
inquire whether you remember the time or the 
order of these workings of the Spirit ; there may be 
much uncertainty and mistake in that. If you are 
sure they are wrought in you, it is not so great a 
matter that you should know when or how you 
came by them. But carefully examine and inquire, 
Hast thou been thoroughly convinced of a prevail- 
ing depravation through thy whole soul; and a 
prevailing wickedness through thy whole life ; and 
how vile sin is; and that by the covenant thou 
hast transgressed, the least sin deserves eternal 
death? Dost thow consent to the law, that it is 
true and rightéous, and perceive thyself sentenced to 
this death by it? Hast thou seen the utter insuf-’ 
ficiency of every creature, either to be itself thy 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 93 


happiness, or the means of removing this thy misery ? 
Hast thou been convinced that thy happiness is only 
in God, as the end, and in Christ, as the way to him; 
and that thou must be brought to God through Christ, 
or perish eternally? Hast thou seen an absolute 
necessity of thy enjoying Christ, and the full suffi- 
eiency in him to do for thee whatsoever thy case 
requires? Hast thou discovered the excellency of 
this' pearl to be worth thy “selling all to buy it?” 
Have thy convictions been like those of a man that 
thirsts; and not merely a change in-opinion, pro- 
duced by reading or education? Have both thy sin 
and misery been the abhorrence and burden of thy 
soul? If thou couldst not weep, yet couldst thou 
heartily groan under the msupportable weight of 
both? Hast thou renounced all thy own righteous- 
ness? Hast thou turned thy idols out of thy heart, 
so that the creature hath no more the sovereignty, 
but is now a servant to God and Christ? Dost thou 
accept of Christ as thy only Saviour, and expect thy 
justification, recovery, and glory from him alone? 
Are his laws the most powerful commanders of thy 
life and soul? Do they ordinarily prevail against 
the commands of the flesh, and against the greatest 
interest of thy credit, profit, pleasure, or life? Has 
Christ the highest room in thy heart and affections, 
so that, though thou canst. not love him as thou 
wouldst, yet nothing else is loved so much? Hast 
thou, to this end, made a hearty covenant with 


94 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


him, and delivered up thyself to him? Is it thy 
uttermost care and watchful endeavor that thou 
mayest be found faithful in this covénant; and 
though thou, fall into sin, yet wouldst not renounce 
thy bargain, nor change thy Lord, nor give up thy- 
self to any other government for all the world? If 
this be truly thy case, thou art one of “the people 
of God” in my text; and as sure as the promise of 
God is true, this blessed rest remains for thee. 
Only see thou ‘abide in Christ,” and ‘endure to 
the end ;” for if any man draw back, his soul shall 
have no pleasure in him. But if no such work 
be found within thee, whatever thy deceived heart 
may think, or how strong soever thy false hopes 
may be, thou wilt find to thy cost, exeept thorough 
conversion prevent it, that the rest of the saints 
belongs not to thee. ‘‘O that thou wert wise, that 
thou wouldst understand this, that thou wouldst 
consider thy latter end!” that yet, while thy soul 
is in thy body and “‘a price is in thy hand,” and 
opportunity and hope before thee, thine ears may be 
open and thy heart yield to the persuasions of God, 
that so thou mayest rest among his people and 
enjoy ‘the inheritance of the saints in ight!” 
That this rest shall be enjoyed by the people of 
God, is a truth which the Scripture, if its testimony 
be further needed, clearly asserts in a variety of 
ways ; as, for instance, that they are ‘ foreordained 
to it, and it for them. God is not ashamed to be 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 95 


called their God, for he hath prepared for them a 
city.” They are styled “vessels of mercy, afore 
prepared unto glory.” ‘In Christ they have ob- 
tained an inheritance, being predestinated accord- 
ing to the purpose of Him who worketh all things 
after the counsel of his own will.” And “whom 
he did predestinate, them he also glorified.’”’ Who 
can deprive his people of that rest which is designed 
for them by God’s eternal purpose? Scripture tells 
us they are redeemed to this rest. ‘‘ By the blood 
of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holiest,” 
whether that entrance means by faith and prayer 
here, or by full possession hereafter. Therefore the 
saints in heaven sing a new song unto Him who has 
“‘redeemed them to God by his blood, out of every 
kindred and tongue and people and nation, and 
made them kings and priests unto God.” Either 
Christ, then, must lose his blood and sufferings, and 
never “see of the travail of his soul,” or else ‘‘there 
remaineth a rest to the people of God.” In Scrip- 
ture this rest is promised to them. As the firma- 
ment with stars, so are the sacred pages bespangled 
with these divine engagements. Christ says, ‘‘ Fear 
not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleas- 
ure to give you the kingdom.” ‘I appoint unto 
you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my 
kingdom.”’ All the means of grace, the operations 
of the Spirit upon the soul, and gracious actings of 


7 
C6 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the saints, every command to repent and believe, to 
fast and pray, to knock and seek, to strive and labor, 
to run and fight, prove that there remains a rest for 
the people of God. The Spirit would never kindle 
in us such strong desires after heaven, such love to 
Jesus Christ, if we should not receive what we 
desire and love. He that ‘“ guides our feet into the 
way of peace,’ will undoubtedly bring us to the 
end of peace. How nearly are the means and end 
conjoined. ‘The kingdom of heaven suffereth vio- 
lence, and the violent take it by force.” * They that 
‘follow Christ in the regeneration, shall sit upon 
thrones of glory.” Scripture assures us, that the 
saints have the ‘beginnings, foretastes, earnests, 
and seals” of this rest here. ‘The kingdom of 
God is within them.” ‘Though they have not 
seen Christ, yet loving him, and believing in him, 


they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory ;_ 


receiving the end of their faith, even the salvation 
of their souls.” They “rejoice in hope of the glory 
of God.” And does God “seal them with that 
Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of their 
inheritance,’ and will he deny the full possession ? 
The Scripture also mentions, by name, those who 


have entered into this rest; as Enoch, Abraham, 


Lazarus, and the thief that was crucified with 
Christ. And if there be a rest for these, surely 
there is a rest for all believers. But it is in vain 
to bring together scripture proofs, seeing it is the 


~ 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. “OF 


very end of Scripture to be a guide to lead us to 
this blessed state, and to be the charter and grant — 
by which we hold all our title to it. | 
Scripture not only proves that this rest remains 
for the people of God, but also that it remains for 
none but them; so that the rest of the world shall 
have no part in it. ‘Without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord... Except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God. He that be- 
lieveth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath 
of God abideth on him. -No whoremonger, nor 
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idola- 
ter, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ 
and of God. The wicked shall be turned into hell, 
and all the nations that forget God. They all shall 
be damned who believe not the truth, but have 
pleasure in unrighteousness. The Lord Jesus shall - 
come, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them 
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who.shall be punished 
with everlasting destruction from the presence of 
the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” Had 
the ungodly returned before their life was expired, 
and been heartily willing to accept of Christ. for 
their Saviour and their King, and to be saved by 
him in his way and upon his most reasonable terms, 
they might have been saved. (God freely offered 
them life, and they would not accept it. The pleas- 
ures of the flesh seemed more desirable to them than 


> 
Saints’ Rest. 1 
Pe 


98 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the glory of the saints. Satan offered them the one, 
and God offered them the other; and they had free 
liberty to choose which they would, and they chose 
“the pleasures of sin for a’season”’ before the ever- 
lasting rest with Christ. And is it not a righteous 
thing that they should be denied that which they 
would not accept ?. When God pressed them so 
earnestly, and persuaded them so importunately, to 
come in, and yet they would not, where should they 
be but among the dogs without? Though man be 
so wicked that he will not yield till the mighty 
power of grace prevail with him, yet still we may 
truly say that he may be saved, if he will, on God’s 
terms. His inability being moral, and lying in 
wilful wickedness, is no more excuse to him than 
it is to an adulterer that he cannot love his own 
wife, or to a malicious person that he cannot but 
hate-his own brother: is he not so much the worse, 
and deserving of so much the sorer’ punishment ? 
Sinners shall lay all the blame on their own wills 
in hell for ever. Hell is a rational torment by 
conscience, according to the nature of the rational 
subject. ‘Ifsinners could but then say, It was God’s 
fault, and not ours, it would quiet their consciences 
and ease their torments, and make hell to them to 
be no hell. But to remember their wilfulness will 
feed the fire, and cause athe worm of conscience 
‘never to die.” 

It is the will of God that this rest should yet 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 99 


remain for his people, and mot be enjoyed till they 
come to another world. Who should dispose of the 
creatures but he that made them? You may as 
well ask, why have we not spring and harvest with- 
out winter; or, why is the earth below and the 
heavens above? as why we have not rest on earth. 
All things must come to their perfection by degrees. 
The strongest man must first be a child. The 
greatest scholar must first begin with the alphabet. 
The tallest.oak was once an acorn. This life is 
our infaney; and would we be perfect in the womb, 
or born of full stature? If our rest was here, most 
of God’s providences must be useless. Should God 
lose the glory of his church’s miraculous deliver- 
ances, and of the fall of his enemies, that men may 
have their happiness here? If we were all happy, 
innocent, and perfect, what use was there for the 
glorious work of our sanctification, justification, and 
future salvation? Ifwe wanted nothing, we should 
not depend on (rod so closely, nor call upon him so 
earnestly. How little would he hear from ‘us, if we 
had what we would have: God would never have 
had such songs of praise from Moses at the Red 
sea and in the wilderness, from Deborah and Han- 
nah, from David and Hezekiah, if they had been 
the choosers of their own condition. Have not thy 
own highest praises to God, reader, been occasioned 
by thy dangers or miseries? The greatest glory 
and praise God has through the world, is for re- 


100 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


demption, reconciliation, and salvation by Christ ; 
and was not man’s misery the occasion of that? 
And where God loses the opportunity of exercising 
his mercies, man must needs lose the happiness of 
enjoying them. Where God loses his praise, man 
will certainly lose his comforts. O the sweet com- 
forts the saints have had in return for their prayers. 
How should we know what a tender-hearted Father 
we have, if we had not, as the prodigal, been denied 
the husks of earthly pleasure and profit? We 
should never have felt Christ’s tender heart; if we 
had not felt ourselves ‘“‘ weary and heavy laden, 
hungry and thirsty, poor and contrite.” It is a 
delight to a soldier or traveller, to look back on his 
escapes when they are over; and for a saint in 
heaven to look back on his sing and sorrows upon 
earth ; his fears and tears, his enemies and dangers, 
his wants and calamities must make his joy more 
joyful. Therefore the blessed, in praising the Lamb, 
mention his ‘‘ redeeming them out of every nation 
and kindred and tongue; and so out of their 
misery and wants and sins, ‘‘and making them 
kings and priests to God.” But if they had had 
nothing but content and rest on earth; what room 
would there have been for these rejoicings here- 
after ? . 

Besides, we are not capable of rest wpon earth. 
Can a soul that is so weak in grace, so prone to 
sin, so nearly joined to such a neighbor as this flesh, 


t 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 101 


have full content and rest in such a case? What 
is soul-rest but our freedom from sin and imper- 
fections and enemies? And can the soul have rest 
that is molested with all these, and that continually ? 
Why do Christians so often cry out, in the language 
of Paul, “O wretched man that I am, who shall 
deliver me?” What makes »them “ press toward 
the mark, and run that they may obtain, and strive 
to enter in,” if they are capable of rest in their 
present condition? And our bodies are incapable 
as well as our souls. They are not-now those gun- 
like bodies which they shall be, wher this “ cor- 
ruptible hath put on incorruption, and this mortal 
hath put on immortality.” ‘They are our prisons 
and our burdens; so full of mfirmities and defects, 
that we spend most of our time in repairing them 
and supplying their continual wants. Is it possible 
that an immortal soul should have rest in such a 
disordered habitation? Surely these sickly, weary, 
loathsome bodies must be refined before they can be 
capable of enjoying rest. The objects which we 
here enjoy are insufficient-to afford us rest. Alas, 
what is there in all the world to give us rest? 
They that have most of it have the greatest burden. 
They that set most by it, and rejoice most in it, do 
all-cry out at last of its vanity and vexation. Men 
promise themselves a heaven upon earth ; but when 
they come to enjoy it, it fles from them. He that 
has any regard to the works of the Lord, may easily 


102 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


see that the very end of them is to take down our 
idols, to make us weary of the world, and seek our 
rest in him. Where does he cross us most, but 
where we promise ourselves most content? If you 
have a child you dote upon, it becomes your sorrow. 
If youhave a friend you trust in, and judge unchange- 
able, he becomes your scourge. Is this-a place or 
state of rest? And as the objects we here enjoy 
are insufficient for our rest, so God, who is sufficient, 
is here little enjoyed. It is not here that he hath 
prepared the presence-chamber of his glory. He 
hath drawn the curtain between us and- him. We 
are far from him as creatures, and farther as frail 
mortals, and farthest as sinners. We hear now and 
then a word of comfort from him, and receive his 
love-tokens to keep up our hearts and hopes; but 
this is not our full enjoyment. And can any soul 
that hath made God his portion, as every one hath 
that shall be saved by him, find rest in so vast a 
distance from lim, and so seldom and small enjoy- 
ment of him? — 

Nor are we now capable of rest, as there is a 
worthiness must go before it. Christ will give the 
crown to none but the worthy. Are we fit for the 
crown before we have overcome; or for the prize 
before we have run the race; or to receive our 
penny before we have wrought in the vineyard ; or 
to be rulers of ten cities before we have improved 
our ten talents; or to enter into-the joy of our Lord 


FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 103 


before we have well done as good and faithful ser- 
vants? God will not alter the course of justice, to 
give you rest before you have labored, nor the 
crown of glory till you have overcome. There is 
reason enough why our rest should remain till the 
life to come. Take heed, then, Christian reader, 
how thou darest to contrive and care for a rest on 
earth, or to murmur at God for thy trouble and 
toil and wants in the flesh. Doth thy poverty 
weary thee ; thy sickness, thy bitter enemies and 
unkind friends? It should beso here. Do the 
abominations of the times, the sins of professors, the 
hardening of the wicked, all weary thee? It must 
be so while thou art absent from thy rest. Do thy 
sins and thy naughty, distempered heart weary 
thee? Be thus wearied more and more. But, 
under all this weariness, art thou willing to go to 
God, thy rest; and to have thy warfare accom- 
plished, and thy race and labor ended? If not, 
complain more of thy own heart, and get it more 
weary, till rest seem more desirable. 

I have but one thing more to add, for the close of 
this chapter—that the souls of believers do enjoy 
inconceivable blessedness and glory, even while they 
remain separated from their bodies. What can be 
more plain than these words of Paul: “ We are 
always confident, knowing that while we are at 
home,” or rather sojourning, “in the body, we are 
absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by 


104 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather — 
to be absent from the body, and to be present with 
the Lord.” Or these: “I am in a strait betwixt 
two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, 
which is far better.” If Paul had not expected to 
enjoy Christ till the resurrection, why should he be 
in a strait, or desire to depart? Nay, should he 
not have been loath to depart upon the very same 
grounds? for while he was in the flesh he enjoyed 
something of Christ. Plain enough are the words 
of Christ to the thief, ‘To-day shalt thou be with 
me in paradise.” In the parable of Dives and 
Lazarus, it seems unlikely Christ would so evi- 
dently intimate and suppose the soul’s happiness or 
misery presently after death, if there were no such 
thing. Our Lord’s argument for the resurrection 
supposes, that, ‘‘ God being not the God of the dead, 
but of the living,” therefore Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob were then living in the soul. . If the “ bless- 
edness of the dead that die in the Lord” were only 
in resting in the grave, then a beast or a stone were 
as blessed ; nay, it were evidently a curse, and not 
a blessing. For was not life a great mercy? Was 
it not a greater mercy to serve God and to do good ; 
to enjoy all the comforts of life, the fellowship of 
saints, the comfort of ordinances, and much of 
Christ in all, than to lie rotting in the grave? 
Therefore some further blessedness is there prom- 
ised. How else is it said, ‘‘ We are come to the 


° FOR WHOM DESIGNED. 105 
spirits of just men made~perfect?” Surely, at the 
resurrection, the bedy will be made perfect as well 
as the spirit. The Scriptures tell us that Enoch 
and Elias are taken up already. And shall we 
think they possess that glory alone? Did not Peter, 
James, and John see Moses also with Christ on the 
mount? yet the Scripture saith Moses died. And 
is it likely that Christ deluded their senses in show- 
ing them Moses, if he should not partake of that 
glory till the resurrection? And is not that of 
Stephen as plain as we can desire? “Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit.” Surely, if the Lord receive it, 
it is neither asleep, nor dead, nor annihilated, but 
it is where he is,'and beholds his glory. That of 
the: wise man is of the same import: ‘‘ The spirit 
shall return unto God who gave it.” Why are we 
said to ‘have eternal life;”’ and that to “know 
God is life eternal ;’- and that a believer ‘{on the 
Son hath everlasting life?” Or how is “the king- 
dom of God within us?” If there be as great an 
interruption of our life as till the resurrection, this 
is no eternal life, nor everlasting kingdom. ‘The 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah” are spoken of as 
“suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” And if 
the wicked already suffer eternal fire, then no 
doubt but the godly enjoy eternal blesseduess. 
When John saw his glorious revelations, he is said 
to be ‘‘in the Spirit,” and to be ‘carried away in 
the Spirit.’ And when Paul was ‘caught up to 


106 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the third heaven,” he knew not ‘‘ whether in the 
body or out of the body.’ This implies that spirits 
are capable of these glorious things without the 
help of their bodies. The same is implied when 
John says, “I saw under the altar the souls of 
them that were slain for the word of God.” When 
Christ says, ‘‘ Fear not them who Ikull the body, 
but are not able to kill the soul,” does it not plainly 
imply, that when wicked men have killed our 
bodies, that is, have separated the souls from them, 
yet the souls are still alive? The, soul of Christ 
was alive when his body was dead, and therefore 
so shall be ours too. This appears by his words to 
the thief, ‘To-day shalt thou be with me in para- 
dise ;’ and also by his voice on the cross, ‘“‘ Father, 
into thy hands I commend my spit.” If the 
spirits of those that ‘were disobedient in the days 
of Noah were in prison,” that is, in a living and 
suffering state ; then certainly, the separate spirits 
of the just are in an opposite condition of happi- 
ness. Therefore, faithful souls will no sooner leave 
their prisons of flesh but angels shall be their con- 
voy; Christ, and all the perfected spirits of the just 
will be their companions; heaven will be their 
residence, and God their happiness. When such 
die, they may boldly and believingly say, as Stephen, 
‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ;” and commend it, 
as Christ did, into a Father's hands. 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSEIT. 10%” 


CHAPTER V. 


THE GREAT MISERY OF THOSE WHO LOSE THE 
SAINTS’ REST. 


— 


. The loss of heaven includes, 1. The personal perfection 
of the saints; 2. God himself; 3. All delightful affections 
towards God; 4. The blessed society of angels and glori- 
fied spirits. II. The aggravations of the loss of heaven: 
1. The understanding of the ungodly will then be cleared ; 
2. Also enlarged; 3. Their consciences will make a true 
and close application; 4. Their affections will be more 
lively; 5. Their memories will be large and strong. 


Ir thou, reader, art a stranger to Christ, and to 
the holy nature and life of his people, who have 
been described, and shalt live and die in this con- 
dition, let me tell thee, thou shalt never partake of 
the joys of heaven, nor have the least taste of the 
saints’ eternal rest. I may say, as Ehud to Eglon, 
‘“‘T have a message to thee from God ;’” that, as the 
word of God is true, thou shalt never see the face 
of God in peace. This sentence I am commanded 
to pass upon thee; take it as thou wilt, and escape it 
if thou canst. I know thy humble and hearty sub- 
jection to Christ would procure thy escape; he 
would then acknowledge thee for one of his people, 
and give thee a portion in the inheritance of his 
chosen. If this might be the happy success of my 
message, I should be so far from repining, like 


108 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Jonah, that the threatenings of God are not exe- 
cuted upon thee, that I should bless the day that 
ever God made me so happy a messenger. But if 
thou end thy days in thy unregenerate state, as 
sure as the heavens are over thy head and the earth 
under thy feet, thou shalt be shut out of the rest of 
the saints, and receive thy portion in everlasting 
fire. I expect thou wilt turn upon me and say, 
When did God show you the book of life, or tell you 
who they are that shall be saved, and who shut 
out? I answer, I do not name thee, nor any other; 
I only conclude it of the unregenerate in general, 
and of thee, if thou be such‘a one. Nor do | go 
about to determine who shall repent and who shall 
not; much less, that thou shalt never repent. I had 
rather show thee what hopes thou hast before thee, 
if thou wilt not sit still and lose them. I would 
far rather persuade thee to hearken in time, before 
the door be shut against thee, than tell thee there 
is no hope of thy repenting and returning. But, if 
the foregoing description of the people of God does 
not agree with the state of thy soul, is it then a 
hard question whether thou shalt ever be saved ? 
Need I ascend up into heaven to know that “ with- 
out holiness no man shall see the Lord ;’’ or, that 
only ‘‘the pure in heart shall see God ;” or, that 
‘except a man be born again, he cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God?” Need Igo up to heaven to 
inquire that of Christ which he came down to earth 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 109 


to tell us, and sent his Spirit in his apostles to tell 
us, and which he and they have left upon record to 
all the world? And though I know not the secrets 
of thy heart, and therefore cannot tell thee by name 
whether it be thy state or not; yet, if thou art but will- 
ing and diligent, thou mayest know thyself whether 
thou art an heir of heaven or not. It is the main 
thing I desire, that, if thou art yet miserable, thou 
mayest discern and escape it. But how canst thou 
escape, if thou neglect Christ. and salvation? It is 
as impossible as for the devils themselves to be saved ; 
nay, God has more plainly and frequently spoken it 
in scripture of such sinners as thou art, than he has 
of the devils. Methinks a sight of thy case should 
strike thee with amazement and horror. When 
Belshazzar ‘‘saw the fingers of a man’s hand that 
wrote upon the wall, his countenance was changed, 
and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints 
of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one 
against another.” What trembling, then, should 
seize on thee, who hast the hand of God himself 
against thee, not in a sentence or two, but in the 
very scope of the Scriptures, threatening the loss of 
an everlasting kingdom. Because I would fain 
have thee lay it to heart, I will show thee, first, 
the nature of thy loss of heaven; secondly, its 
ageravations. . 
1. The glorious personal perfection which the 
saints enjoy in heaven, is the great loss of the 


110 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


ungodly. They lose that shining lustre of the 
body, surpassing the brightness of the sun at noon- 
day. Though the bodies of the wicked will be 
raised more spiritual than they were upon earth, 
yet that will only make them capable of the more 
exquisite torments. They would be glad then if 
every member were a dead member, that it might 
not feel the punishment inflicted on it; and if the 
whole body -were a rotten carcass, or might he 
down again in the dust. Much more do they want 
that moral perfection which the blessed partake of ; 
those holy dispositions of mind ; that cheerful readi- 
ness to do the will of God; that perfect rectitude 
of all their actions: instead of these, they have 
that perverseness of will, that loathing of good, that 
love to evil, that violence of passion, which they 
had on earth. ° It is true, their understandings will 
be much cleared by the ceasing of former tempta- 
tions, and experiencing the falsehood of former 
delusions, but they have the same dispositions still, 
and fain would they commit the same sins if they 
could: they want but opportunity. There will be 
a greater difference between these wretches and the 
glorified Christian, than there is between a toad 
and the sun in the firmament. The rich man’s 
purple and fine linen and sumptuous fare did not 
so exalt him above Lazarus while at his gate, full 
of sores. 

2. They shall have no comfortable relation to 


Me 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 111 


God, nor communion with him. ‘‘ As they did not 
like to retain God in their knowledge,” but said unto 
him, “ Depart from us, for we desire not the know- 
ledge of thy ways; so God will abhor to retain 
them in his household. He will never admit them 
to the inheritanée of his saints, nor endure them to 
stand in his presence ; but ‘“ will profess unto them, 
I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work 
iniquity.” They are ready now to lay as confident 
claim to Christ and heaven as if they were sincere 
believing saints. The swearer, the drunkard, the 
whoremonger, the worldling can say, Is not God 
our Father as well as yours? But when Christ 
separates his followers from his foes, and his faith- 
ful friends from his deceived flatterers, where then 
will be their presumptuous claim? Then they shall 
find that God is not their Father, because they 
would not be his people. . As they would not con- 
sent that God, by his Spirit, should dwell in them, 
so the tabernacle of wickedness shall have no fel- 
lowship with him, nor the wicked inhabit the city 
of God. Only they that walked with God here 
shall live and be happy with him inheaven. _ Little 


_ does the world know what is the loss of that soul 


who loses God. - What a dungeon would the earth 
be if it had lost the sun ; what a loathsome carrion 


the body, if it had lost the soul! yet all these are 


nothing to the loss of God. As the enjoyment of 


God is the heaven of the saints, so the loss of God 


112 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


is the hell of the ungodly ; and as the enjoying of 
God is the enjoying of all, ,so the loss of God is the 
loss of all. 

3.. They also lose all ddighoful affections towards 
God ; that transporting knowledge ; gipose delight- 
ful views. of his glorious face ; the inconceivable 
pleasure of loving him ; the apprehensions of his 
infinite love to us; the constant joys of his saints, 
and the rivers of consolation with which he satisfies 
them. Isit nothing to lose all this? The employ- 
ment of a king in ruling a kingdom, does so far 
exceed that of the vilest slave, as this heavenly 
ampigymoent exceeds that of an earthly king. God 


suits men’s employment to theirnatures. Your 


hearts, sinners, were never set upon God in your 
lives, never warmed with his love, never longed 
after the enjoyment of him; you had no delight in 
speaking or hearing of him; you had rather have 
continued on earth, if you had known how, than to 
be interested in the glorious praises of God. Is it 
meet, then, that you should be members of the 
celestial choir ? 

4, They shall be deprived of the blessed society 


of angels and glorified saints. Instead of being ~ 
companions of those happy spirits, and numbered- 


with those triumphant kings, they must be,driven 
down to hell, where they shall have companions 
of a far different nature and quality. Scorning and 


abusing the saints, hating them, and rejoicing at 
» 


- 2 


4 


& 


THEIR MISERY ‘WHO LOSEIT. ~ 448 


their calamities, was not the way to obtain their 
blessedness. Now, you.are shut out of that com- 
pany from which you first shut out yourselves, 
and are separated from them with whom you would 
not be joined.» You could not endure them in your 
houses, or towns, or scarcely in the kingdom. You 
took them, as Ahab did Elijah, for the “troublers 
of the land;” and as the apostles. were taken for 
‘men that could the world upside down.” If any 


_ thing fell out amiss, you thought all was owing to 


* 


them. . When they were dead or banished, you were 
glad they were gone, and thought the country well 
rid of them. They molested you by faithfully re- 
proving your sins. Their holy conversation troubled 
your consciences, to see them so far excel you. It 
Was a vexation to you to hear them pray or sing 
praises in their families. And is it any wonder if 
you be separated from them hereafter? The day 
is near when they will trouble you no more. Be- 
tween them and you will be a great gulf fixed. 
Even in this life, while the saints were ‘‘ mocked, 
destitute, afflicted, tormented,” and while they had 
their personal imperfections, yet, in the judgment 
of the Holy Ghost, they were men “of whom the 
world was not worthy.” Much more unworthy 
will the world be of their fellowship in glory. 

II. I know many will be ready to think they 
could spare these things in this world well enough, 
and why may they not be without them in the 

Saints’ Rest, 8 


+ 


114 . THE SAINTS’ REST: 


world to come? Therefore, to show them that this 
loss of heaven will then be most tormenting, let 
them now consider, 

1. The understanding of the ungodly will then 
be cleared to know the worth of that which they have 
lost. Now they lament not their loss of God, be- 
cause they never knew his excellence; nor the loss 
of that holy employment and society, for they were 
never sensible what they were worth. A man that 
has lost a jewel, and took it but for a common 
stone, is never troubled at his loss; but when he 
comes to know what he lost, then he laments it. 
Though the understandings of the damned will not 
be sanctified, yet they will be cleared from a mul- 
titude of errors. They now think that their hon- 
ors, estates, pleasures, health, and life are better 
worth their labor than the things of another world ; 
but when these things have left them in misery, 
when they experience the things of which they 
before but read and heard, they will be of another 
mind. They would not believe that water would 
drown, till they were in the sea; nor the fire burn, 
till they were cast into it: but when they feel, 
they will easily believe. All that error of mind 
which made them set light by God, and abhor his 
worship, and vilify his people, will then be con- 
futed and removed by experience. Their knowledge 
shall be increased, that their sorrows may be in- 
creased. Poor souls! they would be comparatively © 


rs 


— 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 115 


happy, if their understandings were wholly taken 
from them, if they had no more knowledge than 
idiots or brutes; or, if they knew no more in hell 
than they did upon earth, their loss would less 
trouble them. How happy would they then think 
themselves if they did not know there is such a 
place as heaven! Now, when their knowledge 
would help to prevent their misery, they will not 
know, or will not read or study that they may 
know; therefore, when their knowledge will but 
feed their consuming fire they shall know, whether 
they will ornot. They are now in a dead sleep, 
and dream that they are the happiest men in the 
world; but when death awakes them, how will 
their judgments be changed in a moment! and 
they that would not see, shall then see and be 
ashamed. ) 

2. As their understanding will be cleared, so it 
will be more enlarged, and made more capacious to 
conceive the worth of that glory which they have 
lost. The strength of their apprehensions, as well 
as the truth of them, will then be increased. What 
deep apprehensions of the wrath of God, the mad- 
ness of sinning, the misery of sinners, have those 
souls that now endure this misery, in comparison 
with those on earth that do but hear of it! What 
sensibility of the worth of life has the condemned 
man that is going to be executed, compared with 


what he was wont to have in the time of his pros- 


116 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


perity ! Much more will the actual loss of eternal 
blessedness make the damned exceedingly appre- 
hensive of the greatness of their loss; and as a 
large vesse! will hold more water than a shell, so 
will their more enlarged understandings contain 
more matter to feed their torment than their shal- 
low capacity can now do. 

3. Their consciences also will make a truer and 
closer application of this doctrine to themselves, 
which will exceedingly tend to increase their tor- 
ment. It will then be no hard matter to them to 
say, ‘‘This is my loss; and this is my everlasting 
remediless misery!” The want of this self-appli- 
cation is the main cause why they are so little 
troubled now. They are hardly brought to believe 
that there is such a state of misery; but more 
hardly to believe that it is like to be their own. 
This makes so many sermons lost to them, and all 
threatenings and warnings in vain. Leta minister 
of Christ show them their misery ever so plainly 
and faithfully, they will not be persuaded they are 
so miserable. Let him tell them of the glory they 
must lose, and the sufferings they must feel, and 
they think he means not them, but some notorious 
sinners. It is one of the hardest things in the 
world to bring a wicked man to know that he is 
wicked, or to make him see himself in a state of 
wrath and condemnation. Though they may easily 
find, by their strangeness to the new birth, and 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 117 


their enmity to holiness, that they never were par- 
takers of them; yet they as verily expect to see 
God and be saved, as if they were the most sancti- 
fied persons in the world. How seldom do men 
ery out, after the plainest discovery of their state, 
I am the man; or acknowledge that, if they die in 
their present condition, they are undone for ever. 
But when they suddenly find themselves in the land 
of darkness, feel themselves in scorching flames, 
and see they are shut out of the preseace of God 
for ever, then the application of God’s anger to 
themselves will be the easiest matter in the world; 
they will then roar out these forced confessions, 
“Q my misery! O my folly! O my inconceivable, 
irrecoverable loss !” 

_4. Then will their affections likewise be more 
lively, and no longer stupefied. A hard heart now 
makes heaven and hell seem but trifles. We have 
showed them everlasting glory and misery, and 
they are as men asleep; our words are as stones 
cast against a wall, which fly back in our faces. 
We talk of terrible things, but it is to dead men ; 
we search the wounds, but they never feel it; we 
speak to rocks rather than to men ; the earth will 
as soon tremble as they. But when these dead 
souls are revived, what passionate sensibility, what 
working affections, what pangs of herror, what 
depths of sorrow will there then be! How vio- 
lently will they denounce and reproach themselves! 


118 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


How will they rage against their former madness! 
The lamentations of the most affectionate wife for 
the loss of her husband, or of the tenderest mother 
for the loss of her children, will be nothing to 
theirs for the loss of heaven. O the self-accusing 
and self-tormenting fury of those forlorn creatures ! 
How will they even tear their own hearts, and be 
God’s executioners upon themselves! As them- 
selves were the only meritorious cause of their 
sufferings, so themselves will be the chief execu- 
tioners. Even Satan, as he was not so great a 
cause of their sinning as themselves, will not be so 
great an instrument of their torment. How happy 
would they think themselves then, if they were 
turned into rocks, or any thing that had neither 
passion nor sense! How happy, if they could then 
feel as lightly as they were wont to hear ; if they 
could sleep out the time of execution as they did the 
time of the sermons that warned them of it! But 
their stupidity is gone: it will not be. 

5. Their memorzes will moreover be as large and 
strong as their understanding and affections. Could 
they but lose the use of their memory, their loss of 
heaven, being forgot, would little trouble them. 
Though they would account annthilation a great 
mercy, they cannot lay aside any part of their 
being. Understanding, conscience, affections, mem- 
ory, must all live to torment them, which should 
have helped to their happiness. As by these they 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 119 


should have fed upon the love of God, and drawn 
forth perpetually the joys. of his presence, so by 
these must they feed upon his wrath, and draw 
forth continually the pains of his absence. Now 
they have no leisure to consider, nor any room in 
their memories for the things of another life; but 
then they shall have nothing else to do; their 
memories shall have no other employment. God 
would have had the doctrine of their eternal state 
“written on the posts of their doors, on their hands 
and hearts:’ he would have them mind it, and 
mention it ‘‘when they lay down and rose up, when 
they sat in their houses, and when they walked by 
the way;’ and seeing they rejected this counsel of 
the Lord, therefore it shall be written always before 
them inthe place of their thraldom, that, which way 
soever they look, they may still behold it. It will 
torment them to think of the greatness of the glory 
they have lost. If it had been what they could 
have spared, or a loss to be repaired with any thing 
else, it had been a smaller matter. Ifit had been 
health, or wealth, or friends, or life, it had been 
nothing. But O, to lose that exceeding and eter- 
nal weight of glory! It will also torment them to 
think of the possibility they once had of obtaining 
it. Then they will remember, ‘Time was when 
I was as fair for the kingdom as others. I was set 
upon the stage of the world; if I had believed in 
Christ, I might now have had possession of the 


120 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


inheritance. I who am now tormented with these 
damned fiends, might have been among yonder 
blessed saints. The Lord did set before me life 
and death; and having chosen death, I deserve to 
suffer it. The prize was held out before me: if I 
had run well, I might have obtained it; if I had 
striven, I might have had the victory ; if I had 
fought valiantly, I had been crowned.” « It will 
yet more torment them to remember that their 
obtaining the crown was. not only possible, but 
very probable. It will wound them to think, “1 
had once the gales of the Spirit ready to have 
assisted me. I was proposing to be another man, 
to cleave to Christ, and forsake the world. I 
was almost resolved to be wholly for God. I 
was once even turning away from my base, se- 
ducing lusts. I had cast off my old companions, 
and was associating with the godly. Yet I turned 
back, lost my hold, and broke my promises. I was 
almost persuaded to be a real Christian, yet I con- © 
quered those persuasions. What workings were in 
_my heart when a faithful minister pressed home 
the truth! O how fair was I once for heaven! I 
almost had it, and yet I have lost it. Had I fol- 
lowed on to seek ee Lord, I had now been blessed 
among the saints.’ ; 

It will exceedingly torment Her to remember 
their lost opportunities. ‘‘How many weeks and 
months and years did I lose, which if I had im- 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 121 


proved I might now have been happy. Wretch 
that I was, could I find no time to study the work 
for which I had all my time; no time among all 
my labors to labor for eternity? Had I time to eat 
and drink and sleep, and none to save my soul? 
Had I time for mirth and vain discourse, and none 
for prayer? Could I take time to secure the world, 
and none to try my title to heaven? O precious 
time! I had once enough, and now I must have no 
more. I had once so much I knew not what to do 
with it ; and now it is gone, and cannot be recalled. 
O that I had but one of those years to live over 
again, how speedily would I repent, how earnestly 
would I pray, how diligently would I hear, how 
closely would I examine my state, how strictly 
would I live. But it is now too late, alas, too 
late.” 

It will add to their calamity to remember how 
often they were persuaded to return. ‘‘Fain would 
the minister have had me escape these torments. 
With what love and compassion did he beseech me, 
and yet I did but make-a jest of it. How oft did 
he convince me, and yet I stifled all these convic- 
tions. How did he open to me my very heart, and 
yet I was loath to know the worst of myself. O 
how glad would he have been if he could have seen 
me cordially turn to Christ. My godly friends ad- 
monished me; they told me what would become of 
my wilfulness and negligence at last; but I neither 


122 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


believed nor regarded them. How long did God 
himself condescend to entreat me. How did the 
Spirit strive with my heart, as if he was loath to 
take a denial.. How did Christ stand knocking, 
one Sabbath after another, and crying to me, ‘Open, 
sinner, open thy heart to thy Saviour, and I will 
come in and sup with thee, and thou with me. 
Why dost thou delay? How long. shall thy vain 
thoughts lodge within thee? Wilt thou not be 
pardoned and sanctified and made happy? When 
shallit once be?’”’ O how the recollection of such 
divine pleadings will passionately transport the 
damned with self-indignation. ‘Must I tire out 
the patience of Christ? Must I make the God of 
heaven. follow me in vain, till I have wearied him 
with crying to me, Repent! return! O how justly 
is that patience now turned into fury which falls 
upon me with irresistible violence. When the Lord 
cried to me, ‘ Wilt thou not be made clean? When 
shall it once be?’ my heart, or at least my practice 
answered, ‘Never! And now, when I cry, ‘How 
long shall it be till I am freed from this torrent ?’ 
how justly do I receive the same answer, ‘ Never, 
never?!’.”’ 

It will also be most cutting to remember on what. 
easy terms they might have escaped their misery. 
Their work was not to remove mountains, nor con- 
quer kingdoms, nor fulfil the law to the smallest 
tittle, nor satisfy justice for all their transgressions, 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 123 


“The yoke was easy and the burden light”? which 
Christ would have laid upon them. It was but to 
repent and cordially accept him for their Saviour ; 
to renounce all other happiness, and take the Lord 
for their supreme good; to renounce the world and 
the flesh, and submit to his meek and gracious gov- 
ernment; and to forsake the ways of their own 
devising, and walk in his holy delightful way. 
“Ah,” thinks the poor tormented wretch, ‘ how 
justly do I suffer all this, who would not-be at so 
small pains to avoid it! Where was my understand- 
ing when I neglected that gracious offer; when I 
called ‘the Lord a hard master,’ and thought his 
pleasant service a bondage, and the service of the 
devil and the flesh the only freedom? Was I not 
a thousand times worse than mad, when I censured 
the holy way of God as needless preciseness ; when 
I thought the laws of Christ too strict, and all too 
much that I did for the life to come? What would 
all sufferings for Christ and well-doing have been, 
compared with these sufferings that I must undergo 
for ever? Would not the heaven which I have 
lost have recompensed all my losses? And would 
not all my sufferings have been there forgotten ? 
What if Christ had bid me to do some great mat- 
ter—whether to live in continual fears and sorrows, 
or to suffer death a hundred times over; should I 
not have done it? How much more, when he only 
said, ‘Believe and be saved. Seek my face, and 


124 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


thy soul shall live. Take up thy cross and follow 
me, and I will give thee everlasting life.’ O gra- 
cious offer! Ovceasy terms! O cursed wretch, that 
would not be persuaded to accept them "’ 

This also will be a most tormenting considera- 
tion, to remember for what they sold their eternal 
welfare. When they compare the value of the 
pleasures of sin with the value of “the recompense 


of reward,” how will the vast disproportion aston-. 


ish them! To think of the low delights of the 
flesh, or the applauding breath of mortals, or the 
possessing heaps of gold, and then to think of ever- 
lasting glory! ‘This is all I had for my soul, my 
God, my hopes of blessedness.”’ It cannot possibly 
be expressed how these thoughts will tear his very 
heart. Then will he exclaim against his folly, ‘O 
miserable wretch! Did I set my soul to sale for so 
base a price? Did I part with my God for a little 
dirt and dross; and sell my Saviour, as Judas, for 
a little silver? I had but a dream of delight for 
my hopes of heaven; and now I am awakened, it 
is all vanished. My morsels are now turned to 
gall, and my cups to wormwood. When they were 
past my taste, the pleasure perished. And is this 
all that I have had for the inestimable treasure ? 
What a mad exchange did I make! What if I had 
gained all the world, and lost my soul? But, alas, 
how small a part of the world was it for which I 
gave up heaven.” O that sinners would think of 


’ 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 125 


this when they are swimming in the delights of the 
flesh, and studying how to be rich and honorable in 
the world; when they are desperately venturing 
upon known transgression, and sinning against the 
checks of conscience. 

It will add yet more to their torment, when they 
consider that they most wilfully procured their own 
destruction. Had they been forced to sin, it would 
much abate the rage of their consciences; or if they 
were punished for another man’s transgressions ; or 
any other had been the chief author of their ruin. 
But to think it was the choice of their own will, 
and that none in the world could have forced them 
to sin against their will, this will be a cutting 
thought. ‘‘Had I not enemies enough in the world,” 
thinks this miserable creature, ‘‘but I must be an 

“enemy to myself? God would never give the devil, 
nor the world, so much power over me as to force 
me to commit the least transgression. They could 
but entice : it was myself that yielded and did the 
evil. And must I lay hands upon my own soul, 
and imbrue my hands in my own blood? Never 
had Iso great an enemy as myself. Never did God 
offer any good to my soul but I resisted him. He 
hath heaped mercy upon me, and renewed one 
deliverance after another, to draw my heart to him; 
yea, he hath gently chastised me, and made me 
groan under the fruit of my disobedience; and 
though I promised largely in my affliction, yet never 


126 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


was I heartily willing to serve him.” Thus will it 
gnaw the hearts of these sinners, to remember that 
they were the cause of their own ruin; and that they 
wilfully and obstinately persisted in their rebellion, 
and were mere volunteers in the service of the devil. 
The wound in their consciences will be yet deeper, 
when they shall not only remember it was their 
own doing, but that they were at so much cost and 
pains for their own damnation. What great under- 
takings did they engage in to effect their ruin, to 
resist the Spirit of God; to overcome the power of 
mercies, judgments, and even the word of God; to 
subdue the power of reason and silence conscience. 
All this they undertook and performed. Though 
they walked in continual danger of the wrath of 
God, and knew he could lay them in the dust and . 
cast them into hell in a moment, yet would they 
run upon all this. Othe labor it costs sinners to be 
damned! Sobriety, with health and ease, they 
might have had at a cheaper rate; yet they will 
rather have gluttony and drunkenness, with pov- 
erty, shame, and sickness. Contentment they might 
have, with ease and delight; yet they will rather 
have covetousness and ambition, though it costs 
them cares and fears, labor of body and distraction - 
of mind. Though their anger be self-torment, and 
revenge and envy consume their spirits; though 
uncleanness destroy their bodies, estates, and good 
names, yet will they do and suffer all this, rather 


THEIR MISERY WHO LOSE IT. 127 


~ 


than suffer their souls to be saved. With what 
rage will they lament their folly, and say, ‘‘ Was 
damnation worth all this cost and pains? Might 
i not have been damned on free cost, but I must 
purchase it so dearly? I thought I could have 
been saved without so much ado, and could I not 
have been destroyed without so much ado? Must 
I so laboriously work out my own damnation, when 
God commanded me to ‘work out my own salva- 
tion?’ If I had done as much for heaven as I did 
for hell, I had ‘surely had it. I cried out of the 
tedious way of godliness, and the painful course of 
self-denial; and yet I could be at a great deal more 
pains for Satan and for death. Had I loved Christ 
as strongly as I did my pleasures and profits and 
honors, and thought on him as often and sought 
him as painfully, O how happy had I now been! 
How justly do I suffer the flames of hell for buying 
them so dear, rather than have heaven when it 
was purchased to my hands.” 

O that God would persuade thee, reader, to take 
up these thoughts now, for preventing the incon- 
ceivable calamity of taking them up in hell as thy 
own tormentor! Say not that they are only imagin- 
ary. Read what Dives thought, being in torments. 
As the joys of heaven are chiefly enjoyed by the 
rational soul in its rational acting, so must the 
_ pains of hell be suffered. As they will be men 
‘still, so will they feel and act as men. 


128 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


GHAP TER VTi 


THE MISERY OF THOSE WHO, BESIDES LOSING THE 

SAINTS’ REST, LOSE THE ENJOYMENTS OF TIME, 
AND SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 

. The enjoyments of time which the damned lose: 1. Their 
presumptuous belief of their interest in God and Christ; 
2. All their hopes; 3. All their peace of conscience; 4. All 
their carnal mirth; 5. All their sensual delights. II. The 
torments of the damned are exceedingly great: 1. The 
principal Author of them is God himself. 2. The place or 
state of torment. 3. These torments are the effects of 
divine vengeance. 4. God will take pleasure in executing 
them. 5. Satan and sinners themselves will be God’s exe- 
cutioners. 6. These torments will be universal; 7. With- 
out any mitigation; 8. And eternal. The obstinate sinner 
convinced of his folly in venturing on these torments; and 
entreated to fly for safety to Christ. 


As “godliness hath a promise of the life that 
now is, and of that which is to come ;” and if we 
“seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness,’ then all meaner “things shall be added unto 
us; so also are the ungodly threatened with the 
loss both of spiritual and temporal blessings ; and 
because they sought not first God’s kingdom and 
righteousness, therefore shall they lose both it and 
that which they did seek, and there shall be taken 
from them that little which they have. If they 
could but have kept their present enjoyments, they 
would not have much cared for the loss of heaven. 


eos 


_THE TORMENTS OF HELL. | 129 


If they had “lost and forsaken all for Christ,” they 
would have found all again in him; for he would 
“have been all in all to them. But, now they have 
forsaken Christ for other things, they shall lose 
Christ and that also for which they forsook him, 
even the enjoyments of time, besides pasgang the 
torments of hell. 

1. They shall lose their presumptuous belief of 
- theur interest in the favor of God and the merits of 
Christ. This false belief now supports their spirits, - 
and defends them from the terrors that would other- 
wise seize upon them. But what will ease their 
trouble when they can believe no longer, nor re- 
joice any longer? If a man be near to the greatest 
mischief, and yet strongly conceit that he is in 
safety, he may be as cheerful as if all were well. 
If no more were needed to make a man happy but to 
believe that he is so, or shall be so, happiness would 
be far more common than it is like to be. As true 
faith is the leading grace in the regenerate, so is 
false faith the leading vice in the unregenerate. 
Why do such multitudes sit still when they might 
have pardon, but that they verily think they are 
pardoned already? If you could ask thousands in 
hell what madness brought them thither, they 
would most of them answer, ‘‘ We thought we were 
sure of being saved, till we found ourselves damned. © 
We would have been more earnest seekers of regen- 
eration and the power of godliness, but we verily 


Saints’ Rest. 


~ ; vox, 

130 THE SAINTS’ REST. 

thought we were Christians already. We have 
flattered ourselves into these torments, and now 
there is no remedy.” Reader, I must in faithful- 
ness tell thee that the confident belief of their good 
state, which the careless, unholy, unhumbled mul- 
titude so commonly boast of, will prove in the end 
but a soul-damning delusion. There is none of this 
believing in hell. It was Satan’s stratagem, that 
being blindfold, they might follow him the more 
‘boldly ; but then he will uncover their eyes, and 
they shall see where they are. 

2. They shall lose also all their hopes. In this 
life, though they were threatened with the wrath 
of God, yet their hope of escaping it bore up their 
hearts. We can now scarce speak with the vilest 
drunkard, or swearer, or scoffer, but he hopes to be 
saved, for all this. O happy world, if salvation \ 
were as common as this hope! Nay, so strong are ~ 
men’s hopes, that they will dispute the cause with 
Christ himself at the judgment, and plead their 
“having ate and drank in his presence, and prophe- 
sied in his name, and in his name cast out devils ;” 
they will stiffly deny that ever they neglected 
Christ, in hunger, nakedness, or in prison, till he 
confutes them with the sentence of their condemma- 
tion. Othe sad state of those men when they must 
bid farewell to all their hopes! “When a wicked 
mam dieth, his expectation shall perish; and the 
hope of unjust men perisheth. The eyes of the 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 131 


wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and 
their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.” 
The giving up of the ghost is a fit but terrible 
resemblance of a wicked man giving up his hopes. 
As the soul departeth not from the body without 
the greatest pain, so doth the hope of the wicked 
depart. The soul departs from the body suddenly, 
in a moment, which hath there delightfully contin- 
ued so many years; just so doth the hope of the 
wicked depart. The soul will never more return 
to live with the body in this world; and the hope 
of the wicked takes an everlasting farewell of his 
soul. A miracle of resurrection shall again unite 
soul and body; but there shall be no such miracu- 
lous resurrection of the damned’s hope. Methinks 
it is the most pitiable sight this world affords, to see 
such an ungodly person dying, and to think of his 
soul and his hopes departing together. With what 
a sad change he appears in another world. Then 
if a man could but ask that hopeless soul, ‘‘ Are 
you as confident of salvation as you were wont to 
be?” what a sad answer would be returned. O that 
careless sinners would be awakened to think of this 
in time. Reader, rest not till. thou canst give a 
reason of all thy hopes, grounded upon scripture 
promises: that they purify thy heart; that they 
quicken thy endeavors in godliness ; that the more 
thou hopest the less thou sinnest, and the more 
exact is thy obedience. If thy hopes be such as 


‘ 


mh 


132 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


these, go on in the strength of the Lord, hold fast 
thy hope, and ‘never shall it make thee ashamed.” 
But if thou hast not one sound evidence of a work 
of grace on thy soul, cast away thy hopes. Despair 
of ever being saved, ‘‘ except thou be born again ;” 
or of ‘‘seeing God, without holiness ;” or of having 
part in Christ, except thou “love him above father, 
mother, or tny own life’. This kind of despair is 
one of the first steps to heaven. Ifa man be quite 
out of his way, what must be the first means to 
bring him in again? He must despair of ever com- 
ing to his journey’s end in the way that he is in. 
If his home be eastward and he is going westward, 
as long as he hopes he is right he will go on; and 
as long as he goes on hoping, he goes further amiss. 
When he despairs of coming home except he turn 
back, then he will return, and then he may hope. 
Just so it is, sinner, with thy soul: thou art born 
out of the way to heaven, and hast proceeded many 
a year; thou goest on and hopest to be saved 
because thou art not so bad as many others. Ex- 
cept thou throw away those hopes, and see that 
thou hast all this while been quite out of the way 
to heaven, thou wilt never return and be saved. 
There is nothing in the world more likely to keep 
thy soul out of heaven, than thy false hopes of being 
saved while thou art out of the way to salva- 
tion. See then how it will aggravate the misery 
of the damned, that, with the loss of heaven, they 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 133 


shall lose all that hope of it which now supports 
them. is | 

3. They will lose all that false peace of conscience 
which makes their present life so easy. Who would 
think, observing how quietly the multitude of the 
ungodly live, that they must very shortly lie down 
in everlasting flames? They are as free from the 
fears of hell as an obedient believer; and for the 
most part have less disquiet of mind than those 
who shall be saved. Happy men, if this peace 
would prove lasting! ‘When they shall say, Peace 
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon - 
them, as travail upon a woman with child; and 
they shall not escape.’ O cruel peace, which ends 
in such a war! The soul of every man by nature 
is Satan’s garrison ; all is at peace in such a man 
till Christ comes and gives it terrible alarms of 
judgment and hell, batters it with the ordnance of 
his threats and terrors, forces it to yield to his mere 
mercy, and take him for the governor; then doth 
he cast out Satan, ‘‘ overcome him, take from him 
all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his 
spoils,” and then doth he establish a firm and 
lasting peace. If, therefore, thou art yet in that 
first peace, never think it will endure. Can thy 
soul have lasting peace in enmity with Christ ? 
Can he have peace against whom God proclaims 
war? I wish thee no greater good than that God 
break in upon thy careless heart, and shake thee 


134 THE SAINTS’ REST. P 


out of thy false peace, and make thee lie down at 
the feet of Christ and say, ‘‘ Lord, what wouldst 
thou have me to do?” and so receive from him a 
better and surer peace, which will never be quite 
broken, but be the beginning of thy everlasting 
peace, and not perish in thy perishing as the 
groundless peace of the world will do. 

4. They shall lose all their carnal mirth. They 
will themselves say of their “laughter, it is mad ; 
and of their mirth, what doeth it?” It was but 
‘‘as the crackling of thorns under a pot.’’. It made 
a blaze for a while, but it was presently gone, and 
returned no more. The talk of death and judgment 
was irksome to them, because it damped their 
mirth. They could not endure to think of their sin 
and danger, because these thoughts sunk their 
spirits. They knew not what it was to weep for 
sin, or to humble themselves under the mighty 
hand of God. They could laugh away sorrow, and 
sing away cares, and drive away those melancholy 
thoughts. To meditate and pray, they fancied, 
would be enough to make them miserable or run 
mad. Poor souls, what a misery will that life be, 
where you shall have nothing but sorrow—intense, 
heart-piercing, multiplied sorrow ; when you shall 
neither have the joys of saints nor your own former 
joys! Do you think there is one merry heart in 
hell ; or one joyful countenance or jesting tongue ? 
You now cry, ‘A little mirth is worth a great deal. 


~ 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 135 


ofsorrow.” But surely a little godly sorrow, which 
would have ended in eternal joy, had been worth 
much more than all your foolish mirth; for the end 
of such mirth is sorrow. 

5. They shall also lose ald their sensual delights. 
That which they esteemed their chief good, their 
heaven, their god, must they lose, as well as God 
himself. . What a fall will.the proud, ambitious 
man have from the height of his honors! As his 
dust and bones will not be known from the dust 
and bones of the poorest beggar, so neither will his 
soul be honored or favored more than theirs. What 
a number of the great, noble, and learned will be 
shut out from the presence of Christ! They shall 
not find their magnificent buildings, soft beds, and 
easy couches. They shali not view their curious 
gardens, their pleasant meadows, and plenteous 
harvests. Their tables will not be so furnished nor 
attended. The rich man is there no more “clothed 
in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously 
every day.” There is no expecting the admiration 
of beholders. They shall spend their time in sad- 
ness, and not in sports and pastimes. What an 
alteration will they then find! The heat of their 
lust will then be abated. How will it even cut 
them to the heart to look each other in the face! 
What an interview will there then be, cursing the 
day that ever they saw one another! O that sin- 
ners would now remember and say, ‘“ Will these 


136 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


delights accompany us into the other world? Will 
not the remembrance of them be then our torment ? 
Shall we then take this partnership in vice for true 
‘friendship? Why should we sell such lasting, in- 
comprehensible joys for a taste of seeming pleasure ? 
Come, as we have sinned together, let us pray to- 
gether that God would pardon us ; and let us help 
one another towards heaven, instead of helping to 
deceive and destroy each other.” O that men but 
knew what they desire, when they would so ear- 
nestly have all things suited to the desires of the 
flesh. It is but to desire their temptations to be 
increased and their snares strengthened. | 

II. As the loss of the saints’ rest will be agegra- 
vated by losing the enjoyments of time, it will be 
much more so by suffering the torments of hell. 
The exceeding greatness of such torments may ap- 
pear by considering, 

1. The principal author of hell-torments is God 
himself. As it was no less than God whom ‘in- 
ners had offended, so it is no less than God who 
will punish them for their offences. He hath pre- 
pared those torments for hisenemies. His continued 
anger will still be devouring them. His breath of 
indignation will kindle the flames. His wrath will 
be an intolerable burden to their souls. Ifit were 
but a creature they had to do with, they might 
better bear it. Woe to him that falls under the 
strokes of the Almighty! ‘It is a fearful thing to 


BM 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 137 


fall into the hands of the living God.” It were 
nothing in comparison to this, if all the world were 
against them, or if the strength of all creatures 
were united in one to inflict their penalty. They . 
had now rather venture to displease God than dis- 
please a landlord, a customer, a master, a friend, a 
neighbor, or their own flesh; but then they will 
wish a thousand times, in vain, that‘they had been 
hated of all the world, rather than have lost the 
favor of God. What a consuming fire is his wrath! 
If it be kindled here but a little, how do we “‘ wither 
like grass!’ How soon doth our strength decay 
and turn to weakness, and our beauty to deformity! 
The flames do not so easily run through the dry 
stubble, as the wrath of God will consume these 
wretches. They that could not bear a prison, or a 
gibbet, or a fire for Christ, or scarcely a few scoffs, 
how will they now bear the devouring flames of 
divine wrath ? 

2. The place or. state of torment is purposely 
ordained to glorify the justice of God. When God 
would glorify his power, he made the worlds. The 
comely order of all his creatures declareth his wis- 
dom. His providence is shown in sustaining all 
things. When a spark of his wrath kindles upon 
the earth, the whole world, except only eight per- 
sons, are drowned; Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah 
and Zeboim are burnt with fire from heaven ; the 
sea shuts her mouth upon some, the earth opens 


138 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


and swallows up others; the pestilence destroys by 
thousands.. What a standing witness of the wrath 
of God is the present deplorable state of the Jews! 
Yet the glorifying of the mercy and justice of God 
is intended most eminently for the life to come. 
As God will then glorify his mercy in a way that 
is now beyond the comprehension of the saints who 
must enjoy it, so also will he manifest his justice 
to be indeed the justice of God. The everlasting 
flames of hell will not. be thought too hot for the 
rebellious; and when they have there burned 
through millions of ages, he will not repent him 
of the evil which has befallen them. Woe to the 
soul that is thus the object of the wrath of the 


Almighty, as a bush that must burn in the flames - 


of his jealousy and never be consumed! 

The torments of the damned must be extreme, 
because they are the effect of divine vengeance. 
Wrath is terrible, but vengeance is implacable. 
When the great God shall say; ‘‘My rebellious 
creatures shall now pay for all the abuse of my 
patience ; remember how I waited your leisure in 
vain, how I stooped to persuade and entreat you: 
did you think I would always. be so slighted ?” 
then will he be avenged for every abused mercy, 
and for all their neglects of Christ-and grace. O 
that men would foresee this, and please God better 
in preventing their woe. 

4. Consider also, that though God had rather 


a » 
’ ee 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 139 


men would accept of Christ and mercy, yet, when 
they persist in rebellion, he will take pleasure in 
their execution. He tells us, ‘Fury is not in me;” 
yet he adds, ‘‘Who would set the briars and thorns 
against me in battle? I would go through them, 
I would burn them together.” Wretched crea- 
tures, when ‘he that made them will not have 
mercy upon them, and he that formed them will 
show them no favor. As the Lord rejoiced over 
them to do them good, so the Lord will rejoice 
over them to destroy them, and bring them to 
naught.” Woe to the souls whom God rejoiceth to 
punish : “He will laugh at their calamity, he will 
mock when their fear cometh; when their fear 
cometh as desolation, and their destruction cometh 
as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come 
upon them.” Terrible thing, when none in heaven 
or earth caw help them but God, and he shall re- 
joice in their calamity! . Though Scripture speaks 
of God’s laughing and mocking, not literally, but 
after the manner of men, yet it is an act of God 
in tormenting the sinner, which cannot otherwise 
be more fitly expressed. 

5. Consider that Satan and themselves shall be 
God's executioners. He that was here so success- 
ful in drawing them from Christ, will then be the 
instrument of their punishment for yielding to his 
temptations. That is the reward he will give 
them for all their service; for their rejecting the 


140 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


commands of God, forsaking Christ, and neglecting 
their souls at his persuasion. If they had served 
Christ as faithfully as they did Satan, he would 
have given them a better reward. It is also most 
just that they should be their own tormentors, that 
they may see their whole destruction is of them- 
selves; and then whom can they complain of but 
themselves ? j : 

6. Consider also that their torment will be wz- 
versal. As all parts have joimed in sin, so must 
they all partake in the torment. The soul, as it 
was the chief in sinning, shall be the chief in suf- 
fering ; and as it is of a more excellent nature than 
the body, so will its torments far exceed bodily tor- 
ments; and as its joys far surpass all sensual pleas- 
ures, so the pains of the soul exceed corporeal pains. 
It is not only a soul, but a sinful soul that must 
suffer. Fire will not burn, except the fuel be 
combustible ; but if the wood be dry, how fiercely 
will it burn. The guilt of their sins will be to 
damned souls like tinder to gunpowder, to make the 
flames of hell take hold upon them with fury. 
The body must also bearits part. The body which 
was so carefully looked to, so tenderly cherished, 
so curiously dressed, what must it now endure! 
How are its haughty looks now brought down! 
How lhttle will those flames regard its comeliness 
and beauty! Those eyes, which were wont to be 
delighted with curious sights, must then see nothing 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 141 


but what shall terrify them: an angry God above 
them, with those saints whom they scorned enjoy- 
ing the glory which they have lost; and about 
them will be only devils and damned souls. How 
will they look back and say, ‘Are all our feasts 
and games and revels eome to this?” ‘Those ears 
which were accustomed to music and songs, shall 
hear the shrieks and cries of their damned com- 
panions; children crying out against their parents, 
who gave them encouragement and example in 
evil; husbands and wives, masters and servants, 
ministers and people, magistrates and subjects, 
charging their misery upon one another, for dis- 
couraging in duty, conniving at sin, and being silent 
when they should have plainly foretold the danger. 
Thus will soul and body be companions in woe. 

7. Far greater will these torments be, because 
without mitigation. In this life, when told of hell, 
or if conscience troubled their peace, they had com- 
forters at hand; their carnal friends, their business, 
their company, their mirth. They could drink, 
play, or sleep away their sorrows. But now all 
these remedies are vanished. Their hard, presump- 
tuous, unbelieving heart was a wall to defend them 
against trouble of mind. Satan was himself their 
comforter, as he was to our first mother: ‘“ Hath 
God said, ye shall not eat? Ye shall not surely 
die. Doth God tell you that you shall lie in hell? 
There is no such matter; God is more merciful. 


142 f THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Or, if there be a hell, what need you fear it ? Are 


not you Christians? Was not the blood of Christ — 


shed for you?” Thus as the Spirit of Christ is the 
Comforter of the saints, so Satan is the comforter 
«of the wicked. Never was a thief more careful 
_ lest he should awake the people when he is robbing 
a house, than Satan is not to awaken a sinner. 
But when the sinner is dead, then Satan hath done 
flattering and comforting. Which way, then, will 


the forlorn sinner look .for comfort? They that, 
drew him-into the snare and promised him safety, ~ 


now forsake him, and are forsaken themselves. 
His comforts are gone, and the righteous God, 
whose forewarnings he made light of, will now 
make good his word against him to the last tittle. 
8. But the greatest aggravation of these torments 
will be their eternity. When a thousand millions 
of ages are past, they are as fresh to begin as the 
first day. If there were any hope of an end, it 
would ease the damned to foresee it; but for ever 
is an intolerable thought. They were never weary 
of sinning, nor will God be weary of punishing. 
They never heartily repented of sin, nor will God 
repent of their suffering. They broke the laws of 
the eternal God, and therefore shall suffer eternal 
punishment. They knew it was an everlasting 
kingdom which they refused, and what wonder if 
they are everlastingly shut out of it? Their im- 
mortal souls were guilty of the trespass, and there- 





¥ 
; 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 143 


fore must immortally suffer the pains. What 
happy men would they think themselves, if they 
might have lain still in their graves, or might but 
there lie down ‘again! How will they call and 
ery, ““O death, whither art thou now gone? Now 
come and cut off this doleful life. O that these 
pains would break my heart, and end my being! O 
that I might once at last die! O that I had never 
had a being!” These groans will the thoughts of 
eternity wring from their hearts. ‘They were wont to 
think sermons and prayers long; how long then will 
they think these endless torments! What difference 
is there between the length of their pleasures and 
their pains! The one continued but a moment, the 
other endure through all eternity. Sinner, remem- 
ber how time is almost gone. Thou art standing at 

the door of eternity ; and death is waiting to open 
the door, and put thee in. Go, sleep out a few 
more nights, andstir about a few more days on earth, 
and then thy nights and days shall end: thy thoughts 
and cares and pleasures shall all be devoured by 
eternity ; thou must enter upon the state which 
shall never be changed. As the joys of heaven are 
beyond our conception, so are the pains of hell. 
Everlasting torment is inconceivable torment. 

But methinks I see the obstinate sinner despe- 
rately resolving, “If 1 must be damned, there is no 
remedy. Rather than I will live as the Scripture 
requires, I will put it to the venture ; I shall escape 


144 THE SAINTS’ REST 


as well as others, and we will even bear it as well 
as we can.” Alas, poor creature, let me beg this 
of thee before thou dost so resolve, that thou 
wouldst lend me thy attention to a few questions, 
and weigh them with the reason of a man. Who 
art thou, that thou shouldst bear the wrath of God ? 
What is thy strength? Is-it not as the strength 
of wax or stubble to resist the fire; or as chaff to 
the wind ; or as dust before the fierce whirlwind ? 
If thy strength were as iron, and thy bones as 
brass ; if thy foundation were as the earth, and 
thy power as the heavens, yet shouldst thou perish 
at the breath of his indignation. How much more, 
when thou art but a piece of breathing clay, kept 
a few days from being eaten with worms by the 
mere support and favor of Him whom thou art thus 
resisting! Why dost thou tremble at the signs of 
almighty power and wrath; at peals of thunder, or 
flashes of lightning; or that unseen power which 
rends in pieces the mighty oaks, and tears down 
the strongest buildings; or at the plague when it 
rageth around thee? If thou hadst seen the 
plagues of Egypt, or the earth swallow up Dathan 
and Abiram, or Elijah bring fire from heaven to 
destroy the captains and their companies, would 
not any of these sights have daunted thy spirit ? 
How then canst thou bear the plagues of hell? 
Why art thou dismayed with such small sufferings 
as befall thee here: a toothache, a fit of the gout 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 145 


or stone, the loss of a limb, or falling into beggary 
and disgrace? And yet all these laid together will 
be one day accounted a happy state, in comparison 
with that which is suffered in hell. Why does the 
approach of death so much affright thee? O how 
cold it strikes to thy heart! And would not the 
grave be accounted a paradise, compared with that 
place of torment which thou slightest? Is it an 
intolerable thing to burn part of thy body by hold- 
ing it in the fire? What, then, will it be to suffer 
ten thousand times more for ever in hell? The 
thought or mention of hell occasions disquiet in 
thy spirit; and canst thou endure the torments 
_ themselves? Why doth the rich man complain to 
Abraham of his torments in hell; or thy dying 
companions lose their courage, and change their 
haughty language? Why cannot these make as 
light of hell as thyself? Didst thou never see or 
speak with aman in despair? How uncomfortable 
was his talk; how burdensome his life! Nothing 
he possessed did him good: he had no sweetness in 
meat.or drink ; the sight of friends troubled him ; 
he was weary of life, and fearful of death. If the 
misery of the damined can be endured, why cannot 
| a man more easily endure these foretastes of hell ? 
_ What if thou shouldst see the devil appear to thee 
in some terrible shape; would not thy heart fail 
} thee, and thy hair stand on an end? And how 


wilt thou endure to live for ever where thou shalt — 






Saints’ Rest. ] 0 


146 THE SAINTS’ REST. © * 


have no other company but devils and the damned, 
and shalt not only see them, but be tormented with 
them and by them? Let me once more ask, If the 
wrath of God be so light, why did the Son of God 
himself make so great a matter of it? It caused 
‘his sweat to be as it-were great drops of blood, 
falling down to the ground.’ The Lord of life 
cried, ‘‘ My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death.” And on the cross, ‘‘My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me?” Surely if any one 
could have borne these sufferings easily, it would 
have been Jesus Christ. He had another measure 
of strength to bear it than thou hast. Woe to thee, 
sinner, for thy mad security! Dost thou think to 
find that tolerable to thee, which was so heavy to 
Christ? Nay, the Son of God is cast into a bitter 
agony and bloody sweat, only under the curse of 
the law; and yet thou, feeble, foolish creature, 
fearest not to bear also the curse of the gospel, 
which requires a ‘much sorer punishment.” The 
good Lord bring thee to thy right mind by repent- 
ance, lest thou buy thy wit at too dear a rate. - 
And now, reader, I demand thy resolution. What 
use wilt thou make of all this? Shall it be lost to 
thee, or wilt thou consider it in good earnest? Thou 
hast cast away many a warning of God; wilt thou 
do so by this also? Take heed; God will not 
always stand warning and threatening. The hand 
of vengeance is lifted up, the blow 1s coming, and 


ep 
mf 


THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 447 


woe to him on whom it lighteth! Dost thou throw 
away the book, and say it speaks of nothing but 
hell and damnation? Thus thou usedst also to 
complain of the preacher. _ But wouldst thou not 
have us tell thee of these things? Should we be 
guilty of the blood of thy soul, by keeping silent 
that which God hath charged us to make known? 
Wouldst thou perish in ease and silence, and have 
us perish with thee, rather than displease thee by 
speaking the truth? If thou wilt be guilty of such 
inhuman cruelty, God forbid we should be guilty 
of such sottish folly. This kind of preaching or 
writing is the ready way to be hated; and the de- 
sire of applause is so natural that few delight in 
such a displeasing way. But consider, are these 
things true, or are they not? _If they were not 
true, I would heartily join with thee against any 
_ that fright people without a cause. But if these 
threatenings be the word of God, what a wretch 
art thou, that will not hear it and consider it!” 
If thou art one of the people of God, this doctrine 
will be a comfort to thee, and not.a terror. If 
thou art yet unregenerate, methinks thou shouldst 
be as fearful to hear of heaven as hell, except the 
bare name of heaven or salvation be sufficient. 
Preaching heaven and mercy to thee, is entreating 
thee to seek them, and not reject them; and 
preaching hell is but to persuade thee to avoid it. 
If thou wert quite past hope of escaping it, then it 


= 


a? 


148 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


were in vain to tell thee of hell; but as long 
as thou art alive there is hope of thy recovery, 
and therefore all means must be used to awake 
thee from thy lethargy. Alas, what heart can 
now possibly conceive, or what tongue express, the 
pains of these souls that are under the wrath of 
God? Then, sinners, you will be crying to Jesus 
Christ, ‘“‘O mercy! O pity, pity on a poor soul!” 
Why, I do now, in the name of the Lord Jesus, cry 
to thee, ‘‘O have mercy, have pity, man, upon thy 
own soul!” Shall God pity thee, who will not be 
entreated to pity thyself? If thy horse see but a 
pit before him, thou canst scarcely force him in; 
and wilt thou so obstinately cast thyself into hell, 
when the danger is foretold thee? ‘Who can stand 
before the indignation of the Lord, and who can 
abide the fierceness of his anger?” Methinks thou 
shouldst need no more words, but presently cast 
away thy soul-damning sins, and wholly deliver up 
thyself to Christ. Resolve on it immediately, and 
let it be done, that I may see thy face in rest among 
the saints. May the Lord persuade thy heart to 
strike this covenant without any longer delay. 
But if thou be hardened unto death, and there be 
no remedy, yet say not another day but that thou 
wast faithfully warned, and hadst a friend that 
would fain have prevented thy damnation. 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT 149 


CHAPTER VII. 


‘THE NECESSITY OF DILIGENTLY SEEKING THE 
SAINTS’ REST. 


The saints’ rest surprisingly neglected. The author mourns 
the neglect, and excites the reader to diligence by consid- 
ering, 1. The ends we aim at, the work we have to do, the 
shortness and uncertainty of our time, and the diligence of 
our enemies; 2. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and 
our afflictions; 3. What assistance we have, what princi- 

“ples we profess, and our certainty never to do enough; 
4. That every grace tends to diligence, and to trifle is lost 
labor; that much time is misspent, and that our recom- 
pense and labor will be proportionable; 5. That striving is 
the divine appointment; all men do or will approve it; the 
best Christians, at death, lament their want of it; heaven 
is often lost for want of it, but never obtained without it; 

. 6. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are in earnest; God is 
so in hearing and answering prayer; ministers in their 
instructions and exhortations; all the creatures in serving 
us; sinners in serving the devil, as we were once, and now 
are, in worldly things, and in heaven and hell all are in 
earnest. 


Ir there be so certain and glorious a rest for the 
saints, why is there no more earnest seeking after 
it? One would think, if a man did but once hear 
of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and be- 
heved what he heard, he would be transported with 
the vehemency of his desire after it, and would 
almost forget to eat and drink, and would care for 
nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing 


150 THE SAINTS’ REST. ‘, 


else, but how to'get this treasure. And yet people 
who hear of it daily, and profess to believe it as a 
fundamental article of their faith, as little mind it, 
or labor for it, as if they had never heard of any 
such thing, or did not believe one word they hear. 
This reproof is applicable to the worldly-minded, to 
the profane multitude, to formal professors, and 
even to the godly themselves. 

The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking 
the things below, that they have neither heart nor 
time to seek this rest. O foolish sinners, ‘“‘who 
hath bewitched you?” The world bewitches men 
into brute beasts, and draws them even to madness. 
See what riding and running, what scrambling and 
catching for a thing of naught, while eternal rest 
hes neglected. What contriving and caring to get 
a step higher in the world than their brethren, 
while they neglect the kingly dignity of the saints. 
What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures, while 
they regard the praises of God, the joy of angels, as 
a tiresome burden. What unwearied diligence in 
raising their posterity, enlarging their possessions— 
perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth— 
while judgment is drawing near; but how it shall 
go with them then, never brings them to one hour’s 
consideration. What rising early and sitting up 
late, and laboring from year to year to maintain 
themselves and children in credit till they die; but 
what shall follow after they never think. Yet 


i 
~*~ > 
~~ 
nol 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 151 
7 | 


these men cry, ‘“‘ May we not be saved without so 
much ado?” How early do they rouse up their 
servants to their labor, but how seldom do they call 
them to prayer or reading the scriptures! What 
hath this world done for its lovers and friends, that 
it is so eagerly followed and painfully sought after, 
while Christ and heaven are neglected; or what. 
will the world do for them for the time to come? 
The common entrance into it is through anguish 
and sorrow. The passage through. it is with eon- 
tinual care and labor. The passage out of it is the 
sharpest of all. O unreasonable, deluded men, will 
mirth and pleasure stay by you; will gold and 
worldly glory prove fast friends to you in the time 
of your greatest need? Will they hear your cries in 
the day of your calamity? At the hour of your 
death, will they either answer or relieve you? 
Will they go along with you to the other world, 
and bribe the Judge and bring you off clear, or pur- 
chase you a place among the blessed? Why then 
did the rich man want ‘a drop of water to cool his 
tongue?” . Or are the sweet morsels of present 
delight and honor of more worth than eternal rest ? 
And will they recompense the loss of that enduring 
treasure? Can there be the least hope of any 
of these? Ah, vile, deceitful world, how oft have 
we heard thy most faithful servants at last com- 
plaining, ‘“O, the world hath deceived me and 
undone me. It flattered me in my prosperity, but 


152 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Md 

now.it turns me off in my necessity. If I had as 
faithfully served Christ as I haye served it, he 
would not have left me thus comfortless and hope- 
less.” Thus they complain; and yet succeeding 
sinners will take no warning. 

As for the profane multitude, they will not be 
- persuaded to be at so much pains for salvation as 
to perform the common outward duties of religion. 
If they have the gospel preached in the town where 
they dwell, it may be they will give the hearing 
to it one part of the day, and stay at home tlhe 
other ; or if the master come to the congregation, 
yet part of his family must stay at home. If they 
have not the plain and powerful preaching of the 
gospel, how few are there in a whole town who 
will travel a mile or two abroad to hear, though 
they will go many miles to the market for pro- 
visions for their bodies. They know the Scripture 
is the law of God, by which they must be acquitted 
or condemned in the judgment, and that “the man 
is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and 
in his law doth meditate day and night,” yet will 
they not be at the pains to read a chapter once a 
day. If they carry a Bible to church, and neglect 
it all the week, this is the most use they make of 
it. Though they are commanded to pray without 
ceasing, and to pray always, yet they will neither 
pray constantly in their families nor in secret. 
Though Daniel would rather be cast to the lions 


v 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 153 


than forbear praying three times a day in his house, 
, where his enemies might hear him, yet these men 
will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan 
the roaring lion, than thus seek their own safety. 
Or their cold and heartless prayers invite God to a 
denial; for among men it is taken for granted, that 
he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not 
much for what he asks. They judge themselves 
unworthy of heaven, who think it*not worth their 
more constant and earnest requests. If every door 
was marked where families do not, morning and 
evening, earnestly seek’ the Lord in prayer, and 
his wrath were poured out upon such prayerless 
families, our towns would be as places overthrown 
by the plague, the people being dead within, and 
the mark of judgment without ; I fear, where one 
house would escape, ten would be marked out for 
death ; and the very doors, as it were, cry, ‘Lord, 
have mercy upon us,” because the people would 
not pray themselves. But especially if we could 
see what men do in their secret chambers, how few 
would you find in a whole town that spend one 
quarter of an hour, morning and night, in earnest 
supplication to God for their souls. O how little 
do these men value eternal rest! Thus do they 
slothfully neglect all endeavors for their own wel- 
fare, except some public duty in the congregation, 
to which custom or credit engages them. Persuade 
them to read good books, learn the grounds of religion 


154 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord’s day in 
prayer and meditation and hearing the word, for- 
bearing all worldly thoughts and speeches, and 
what a tedious life do they take this to be; as if 
they thought heaven were not worth doing so much 
for. 

Another class are formal professors, who will be 
brought to any outward duty, but to the inward 
work of religion they will never be persuaded. 
They will preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heav- 
en, or pray in their families, and take part with 
the persons or causes that are good, and desire to 
be esteemed among the godly ; but you can never 
bring them to the more spiritual duties: as to be 
constant and fervent in secret prayer and medita- 
tion ; conscientious in self-examination ; heavenly- 
minded ; to watch over their hearts, words, and 
ways; to mortify the flesh, and not make provision 
to fulfil its lusts; to love and. heartily forgive an 
enemy, and prefer their brethren before them- 
selves; to lay all they have, or do, at the feet of 
Christ, and prize his service and favor before all; 
to prepare to die, and willingly leave all to go to 
Christ. Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any 
of these. If any hypocrite entertains the gospel 
with joy, it is only in the surface of his soul; he 
never gives the seed any depth of earth : it changes 
his opinions, but never melts and new moulds his 
heart, nor sets up Christ there in full power and 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 155 


authority. As his religion lies most in opinion, so 
does- his- chief business and conversation. He is 
usually an ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in con- 
troversies, rather than an humble embracer of 
known truth with love and. obedience. By his 
slighting the judgments and persons of others, and 
seldom talking with seriousness and humility of 
the great things of Christ, he shows his religion 
dwells in his brain, and not in his heart. The 
wind of temptation carries him away as a feather, 
because his heart is not established with Christ 
and grace. He never, in private conversation, 
humbly bewails his soul’s imperfections, or tenderly 
acknowledges his unkindness to Christ; but gathers 
his greatest comfort from his being of such a per- 
suasion or party. The lke may be said of the 
worldly hypocrite, who chokes the gospel with the 
thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is con- 
vinced that he must be religious, or he cannot be 
saved ; and therefore he reads and hears and prays 
and forsakes his former company and courses ; but 
he resolves to keep his hold of present things. His 
judgment may say, God is the chief good, but his 
heart and affections never said so. .The world has 
more of his affections than God, and therefore it is 
his god. Though he does not run after opinions 
and novelties like the world, yet he will be of that 
opinion which will best serve his worldly advan- 
tage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by 


156 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


some pestilential disease, so this man’s spirits being 
possessed by the plague of a- worldly disposition, 
how feeble is he in secret prayer ; how superficial 
in examination and meditation ; how poor in-heart- 
watchings ; how nothing at all in loving and walk- 
ing with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him! 
So that both these and many other sorts of hypo- 
erites, though they will go with you in the easy 
outside of religion, yet will never be at the pers of 
inward and spiritual duties. 

And even the godly themselves are too lazy seekers 
of their everlasting rest. Alas, what a disproportion 
is there between our light and heat,.our profession 
and prosecution! Who makes such haste as if it 
were for heaven? How still we stand; how idly 
we work; how we talk and jest and trifle away 
our time ; how deceitfully we perform the work of 
God; how we hear as if we heard not, and pray as 
if we prayed not, and examine and meditate and 
reprove sin as if we did it not, and enjoy Christ as 
if we enjoyed him not; as if we had learned to use 
the things of heaven as the apostle teacheth us to 
“use the things of the world!’ What a frozen 
stupidity has benumbed us! We are dying, and we 
know it, and yet we stir not; we are at the door of 
eternal happiness or misery, and yet we perceive it 

ot; death knocks, and we hear it not; God and 
Christ call and cry to us, “ To-day, if ye will hear 
my voice, harden not your hearts ; work while it is 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 167 


day, for the night cometh, when none can work.’ 
Now ply your business, labor for your lives, lay out 
all your strength and time; now or never! and yet 
we stir no more than if we were half asleep. What 
haste do death and judgment make; how fast do 
they come on; they are almost upon us, and yet 
what little haste we make! Lord, what a sense- 
less, earthly, hellish thing is a hard heart! Where 
is the man that is in earnest a Christian? Me- 
thinks men everywhere make but a trifle of their 
eternal state. They look after it but a little by the 
by ; they do not make it the business of their lives. 
If I were not sick myself of the same disease, with 
what tears should I mix this ink, with what groans 
should I express these complaints, and with what 
heart-grief should I mourn over this universal 
deadness ! . 

Do magistrates among us seriously perform their 
work? Are they zealous for God? Do they build 
up his house? Are they tender of his honor? Do 
they second the word, and oppose sin and sinners as 
the disturbers of our peace, and*the only cause of 
all our miseries? Do they improve all their pow- 
er, wealth, and honor, and all their influence, for 
the greatest advantage to the kingdom of Christ, 
as men that must shortly give an account of their 
stewardship ? 

How few are the mznzsters who are serious in 
their. work! Nay, how grievously do. the very 


158 THE SAINTS’ REST: 


best fail.in this! Do we cry out of men’s disobe- 
dience to the gospel, ‘in the demonstration of the 
Spirit,” and deal with sin as the destroying fire in 
our towns, and by force pull men out of it? Do 
we persuade our people as those should that “ know 
the terrors of the Lord?” Do ‘we press Christ and 
regeneration and faith and holiness upon men, 
believing that, without these, they can never have 
life? Do our bowels yearn over the ignorant, 
careless, obstinate multitude? When we look them 
in the face, do our hearts melt over them, lest we 
should never see their faces in rest? Do we, as 
Paul, “tell them, weeping,’ of their fleshly and 
earthly disposition ; ‘‘ and teach them publicly, and 
from house to house, at all seasons, and with many 
tears?” And do we entreat them as for their souls’ 
salvation? Or rather, do we not study to gain the 
approbation of critical hearers; as if a minister’s 
business were of no more weight but to tell a 


smooth tale for an hour, and look no more after | 


the people till the next sermon? . Does not carnal - 
prudence control “our fervor, and make our dis- 
courses lifeless on. subjects the most piercing ? 


How gently do we handle those sins which will so. 


cruelly handle our people’s souls. In a word, our 
want of seriousness about the things of heaven 
charms the souls of men into formality, and brings 
them to this customary careless hearing, which 
undoes them. May the Lord pardon the great 


#5 


7 


» 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 159 


sin of the ministry in this thing, and, in particular, 
my own 

And are the people:roore serious than magistrates 
or ministers? How can-it be expected? Reader, 
look but to thyself, and resolve the question. Ask 
‘conscience, and suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast 
thou set thy eternal rest before thine eyes, as the 
great business thou hast to do in this world? © Hast 
thou watched and labored with all thy might “that 
no man take thy crown?” Hast thou made haste, 
lest thou shouldst come too late, and die before thy 
work be done? Hast thou pressed on, through 
crowds of opposition, “towards the mark for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” 
still “reaching forth unto those things which are 
before ?”” Can conscience witness your secret cries 
and groans and tears? Can your family witness 
that you taught them the fear of the Lord, and 
warned them not to “go to that place of torment?” 
Can your minister witness that he.has heard you 
ery out, ‘“‘ What shall I do to be saved?” and that 
you have followed him with complaints against 
your corruptions, and with earnest inquiries afte1 
the Lord? Can your neighbors about you. witness 
that you reprove the ungodly, and take pains to 
save the souls of your brethren? Let all these 
witnesses judge this day hetween God and you, 
whether you are in earnest about eternal rest. 
You can tell by his work whether your servant has 


mS, 
ah 


—— / 


100 THE: SAINTS’ REST. 


loitered, though you did not see him; so you may, 


by looking at your own work. Are your love to _ 


Christ, your faith, your zeal, and other graces, 
strong or weak? What are your joys? What is 
your assurance? . Is all in order with you? Are 
you ready to die if this should be the day? Do the 
souls among whom you have conversed bless you? 
Judge by this, and it will quickly appear whether 
you have been laborers or loiterers. 

O blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglected! 
O glorious kingdom, how art thou undervalued ! 
Little know the careless sons of men what a state 
they so neglect. If they once knew it, they would 
surely be of another mind. I hope thou, reader, 
art sensible what a desperate thing it is to trifle 
about eternal rest, and how deeply thou hast been 
guilty of this thyself. And I hope, also, thou wilt 
not suffer this conviction to ‘die. Should the phy- 
sician tell thee, ‘If you will observe but one thing, 
I doubt not to cure your disease,’ wouldst thou not 
observe it? So I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but 
this one thing for thy soul, I make no doubt of thy 
salvation ; shake off thy sloth, and put to all thy 
strength, and be a Christian indeed: I know not 
then what can hinder thy happiness. As far as 
thou art gone frorn God, seek him with all thy 
. heart, and no doubt thou shalt find him. As unkind 
as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him heartily, 
obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 161 


as if thou hadst it already. But, full as Christ’s 
satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large as the 
mercy of God is, if thou only talk of these when 
thou shouldst eagerly entertain them, thou wilt be 
never the better for them: andif thou loiter when 
thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. Fall 
to work then speedily and seriously, and bless God 
that thou hast yet time to do it. 

To show that I urge thee not without cause, I 
will here add a variety of animating considerations. 
Rouse up thy spirit, and, as Moses said to Israel, 
“Set thy heart unto all the words which I testify 
unto thee this day; for it is not a vain thing, be- 
cause it is thy life.” May the Lord open thy heart, 
and fasten his counsel effectually upon thee : 

1. Consider how reasonable it is that our dili- 
gence should be answerable to the ends we aim at, 
to the work we have to do, to the shortness and un- 
certainty of our time, and to the contrary diligence 
of owr enemies. 

The ends of a Christian’s desire and endeavors 
are so great that no human understanding can 
comprehend them. What is so excellent, so im- 
portant, or so necessary as the glorifying of God, 
the salvation of our own and other men’s souls, by 
escaping the torments of hell and possessing the 
glory of heaven? And can a man be too much 
affect.d with things of such moment? Can he 
desize them too earnestly, or love them too strongly, 

Sapte’ Rest. rt 


162 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


or labor for them too diligently? Do not we know 
that if our prayers prevail not, and our labor suc- 
ceeds not, we are undone for ever ? 

The work of a Christian here is very great and 
various. The soul must be renewed; corruptions 
must be mortified ; customs, temptations, and world- 
ly interests must be conquered; flesh must be sub- 
dued; life, friends, and credit must be slighted ; 
conscience, on good grounds, be quieted; and as- 
surance of pardon and salvation attained. Though 
God must give us these without our merit, yet he 
will not give them without our earnest seeking and 
labor. Besides, there is much knowledge to be 
acquired, many ordinances to be used, and duties 
to be performed ; every age, year, and day, every 
place we come to, every person we deal with, every 
change of our condition, still require the renewing 
of our labor; wives, children, servants, neighbors, 
friends, enemies, all of them call for duty from us. 
Judge, then, whether men that have so much busi- 
ness lying upon their hands should not exert them- 
selves, and whether it be their wisdom either te 
delay or loiter. 

Time passeth on. Yet a few days, and. we shall 
be here no more. Many diseases are ready to as- 
sault us. We, that are now preaching and hearing 
and talking and walking, must very shortly be carried 
and laid in the dust, and there left to the worms, in 
darkness and corruption: we are almost there al- 








NECESSITY OF SEBKING IT. 163 


ready ; we know not whether we shall have another 
sermon or Sabbath or hour. How active should 
they be who know they. have so short a space for 
so great a work. And we have enemies that are 
always plotting and laboring for our destruction. 
How diligent is Satan in all kinds of temptations! 
Therefore ‘‘be sober, be vigilant; because your 
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh 
about, seeking whom he may devour; whom re- 
sist, steadfast in the faith.’ How diligent are all 
the “ministers of Satan; false teachers, scoffers, 
persecutors,” and our inbred corruptions, the most 
busy and diligent of all. Will a feeble resistance 
serve our turn? Should not we be more active 
for our own preservation than our enemies are for 
our ruin ? 

2. It should excite us to diligence when we con- 
sider our talents and our mercies, our relation to 
God, and the afflictions he lays upon us. 

The talents which we have received are many 
and great. What people breathing on earth have 
had plainer instructions or more forcible persua- 
sions or more constant admonitions, in season and 
out of season; sermons till we have been weary of 
them, and Sabbaths till we have profaned them ; 
excellent books in such plenty that we knew not 
which to read? What people have had God so 
near them, or have seen so much of Christ crucified 
‘before their eyes, or have had heaven and hell so 


164 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


open unto them? What speed should such a people 
make for heaven; how should they fly that are 
thus winged; and how swiftly should they sail 
that have wind and tide to help them. A small 
measure of grace becomes not such a people, nor 
will an ordinary diligence in the: work of God 
excuse them. 

All our lives have been filled with mercies. God 
hath mercifully poured out upon us the riches of sea 
and land, of heaven and earth. ‘We are fed and 
clothed with mercy. We have mercies within and 
without. To number them is to count the stars or 
the sands of the sea-shore. If there be any differ- 
ence between hell and earth, yea, or heaven and 
earth, then certainly we have received mercy. If 
the blood of the Son of God be mercy, then we are 
engaged to God by mercy. Shall God think noth- 
ing too much nor too good for us, and shall we 
think all too much that we do for him? When I 
compare my slow and unprofitable life with the 
frequent and wonderful mercies received, it shames 
me, it silences me, and leaves me inexcusable. 

Besides our talents and mercies, our relations to 
God are most endearing. Are we his children, and 
do we not owe him our most tender affections and 
dutiful obedience? Are we “the spouse of Christ,” 
and should we not obey and love him? “If he be 
a Father, where is his honor; and if he be a Mas- — 
ter, where is his fear? We call him Master and 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 165 


Lord, and we say well ;” but if our industry be not 
answerable to our relations, we condemn ourselves 
in saying we are his children or his servants. How 
will the hard labor and daily toil which servants 
undergo to please their masters, judge and condemn 
those who will not labor so hard for their great 
Master. Surely there is no master like him; nor 
can any servants expect such fruit of their labors 
as his servants. And if we wander out of God’s 
way, or loiter in it, how is every creature ready to 
be his rod to bring us back or urge us on. Our 
sweetest mercies will become our sorrows. Rather 
than want a rod, the Lord will make us a scourge 


- to ourselves; our diseased. bodies shall make us 


groan; our perplexed minds shall make us restless ; 
our conscience shall be as a scorpion in our bosom. 
And is it not easier to endure the labor than the 
spur? Had we rather be still afflicted, than be up 
and doing? And though they that do most, meet 
also with afflictions, yet surely, according to their 
peace of conscience and faithfulness to Christ, the 
bitterness of their cup is abated. 

3. To quicken our diligence in our work, we 
should also consider what assistance we have, what 
principles we profess; and our certainty that we can 
never do too much. 

For our assistance in the service of God, all the 
world are our servants. The sun, moon, and stars 
attend us with their light and influence. The 


166 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


earth, with all its furniture of plants and flowers, 
fruits, birds, and beasts; the sea, with its inhabi- 
tants; the air, the wind, the frost and snow, the 
heat and fire, the clouds and rain, all wait upon us 
while we do our work. Yea, “the angels are all 
our ministering spirits.” Nay more, the patience 
of God doth wait upon us; the Lord Jesus Christ 
waiteth in the offers of his blood ; the Holy Spirit 
waiteth by striving with our backward hearts; 
besides the ministers of the gospel, who study and 
wait, preach and wait, pray and wait upon careless _ 
smmners. And is it not an intolerable crime for us 
to trifle, while angels and men, yea, the Lord him- 
self, stand by and look on, and as it were hold us 
the candle while we do nothing? TI beseech you, 
Christians, whenever you are praying, or reproving 
transgressors, or upon any duty, remember what 
assistance you have for your work, and then judge 
how you ought to perform it. 

The prenciples we profess are, that God is the 
chief good; that all our happiness consists in his 
love, and therefore it should be valued and sought 
above all things; that he is our only Lord, and 
therefore chiefly to be served; that we must love 
him with all our heart and soul and strength; that 
our great business in the world is to glorify God and 
obtain salvation. -Are these doctrines seen in our 
practice; or rather, do not our works deny what 
our words confess ? , 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 167 


But, however our assistance and principles excite 
us to our work, we are sure we can never do too 
much. Could we “do all, we are unprofitable ser- 
vants ;” much more when we are sure to fail in all. 
No man can obey or serve God too much. Though 
all superstition, or service of our own devising, may 
be called a “being righteous overmuch,” yet, as 
long as we keep to the rule of the word, we can 
never be righteous too much. The world are mad 
with malice when they think that faithful dili- 
gence in the service of Christ is foolish singularity. 
The time is near when they will easily confess that 
God could not be loved or served too much, and that 
no man can be too earnest to save his soul. We 
may easily do too much for the world, but we can- 
not for God. 

4. Let us further consider that it ¢s the nature 
of every grace to promote diligence, that trifling in 
the way to heaven ts lost labor, that nvuch precious 
time is already nvisspent, and that in proportion to 
our labor will be owr reconupense. 

See the nature and tendency of every grace. If 
you loved God, you would think nothing too much 
that you could possibly do to serve him and please 
him. Love is quick and impatient, active and 
observant. If you loved Christ, you would keep’ 
his commandments, nor accuse them of too much 
strictness. If you had faith, it would quicken and 
encourage you. If you had the hope of glory, it 


168 “THE SAINTS’ REST 


would, as the spring in the watch, set all the wheels 
of your souls agoing. If you had the fear of God, 
it would rouse you out of your slothfulness. If you 
had zeal, it would inflame and ‘‘eat you up.” In 
what degree soever thou art sanctified, in the same 
degree thou wilt be serious and laborious in the 
work: of God. , 

They that trifle lose their labor. Many who, like 
Agrippa, are but almost Christians, will find, in the 
end, they shall be but almost saved. If two be 
running in a race, he that runs slowest loses both 
prize and labor. A man that is lifting at a weight, 
if he put not sufficient strength to it, had as good 
put none at all. How many duties have Christians 
lost for want of doing them thoroughly. ‘Many 
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able,” who, 
if they had striven, might have been able. There- 
fore, put to a little more diligence and strength, that 
all you have done-.already be not in vain. 

Besides, is not much precious time already lost ? 
With some of us childhood and youth are gone; 
with some their middle age also; and the time 
before us is very uncertain. What time have we 
slept, talked, and played away, or spent in worldly 
thoughts and cares! How little of our work is 
done! The time we have lost cannot be re- 
called; should we then not redeem and. improve 
the little which remains? If a traveller sleep 
or trifle most of the day, he must travel so much 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 169 


faster in the evening, or fall short of his journey’s 
end. 

Doubt not but the recompense will be according 
to your labor. The seed which is buried and dead 
wilt bring forth a plentiful harvest. Whatever you 
do or suffer, everlasting rest will pay for all. There 
is no repenting of labors or suflerings in heaven. 
There no one says, ‘‘ Would I had spared my pains, 
and prayed less, or been less strict, and done as the 
rest of my neighbors.” On the contrary, it will be 
their joy to look back upon their labors and tribu- 
lations, and to consider how the mighty power of 
God brought them through all. We may all say, 
as Paul, “I reckon that the sufferings” and labors 
‘‘of this present. time are not worthy to be com- 
pared-with the glory which shall be revealed in 
us.” We labor but for a moment; we shall rest for 
ever. Who would not put forth all his strength for 
one hour, when for that hour’s,work he may be a 
prince while he lives? ‘God is not unrighteous to 
forget our work and labor of love.” Will not “all 
our tears be wiped away,’ and all the sorrow of our 
duties be then forgotten ? 

5. Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that 
striving is the divinely appointed way of salvation ; 
that all men either do, or will approve tt; that the 
best Christians, at death, lament their negligence ; 
and that heaven itself is often lost for want of 
striving, but zs never had on easter terms. 


170 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


The sovereign wisdom of God has made striving 
necessary to salvation. Who knows the way to 
heaven better than the God of heaven? When 
men tell us we-are too strict, whom do they accuse, 
(rod or us? If it were a fault, it would lie in him 
that commands, and not in us who obey. These 
are the men that ask us whether we are wiser than 
all the world besides ; and yet they will pretend to 
be wiser than God. How can they reconcile their 
Janguage with the laws of God? ‘The kingdom 
of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take 
it by force. Strive to enter in at the strait gate; 
for many will seek to enter in, and shall not be 
able. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, 
nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither 
thou goest. Work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling. Give diligence to make your call- 
ing and election sure. If the righteous scarcely be 
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner 
appear?” ‘Let them bring all the seeming reasons 
they can against the holy violence of the saints; 
this sufficeth me to confute them all, that God is 
of another mind, and that he hath commanded me 
to do much more than I do; and though I could see 
no other reason for it, his will is reason enough. 
Who should make laws for us, but he that made us; 
and who should point out the way to heaven, but 
he that must bring us thither; and who should fix 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 171 


the terms of salvation, but he that bestows the gift 
of salvation? So that, let the world, the flesh, or 
the devil speak against a holy; laborious life, this is 
my answer, God hath commanded it. Nay, there 
never was, nor ever will be, a man but will approve 
such a life, and will one day justify the diligence 
of the saints. And who would not go that way 
which every man shall finally applaud? True, it 
is now a way ‘everywhere spoken against.” But 
let me tell you, most that speak against it, in their 
judgments approve of it; and those that are now 
against it will shortly be of another mind. If they 
come to heaven, their mind must be changed before 
they come there. If they go to hell, their judg- 
ment will then be altered whether they will or not. 
Remember this, you that love the opinion and way 
of the multitude. Why then will you not be of the 
opinion that all will be of? Why will you be of a 
judgment which you are sure, all of you, shortly to 
change? O that you were but as wise in this as 
those in hell. , , 

Even the best of Christians, when they come to 
die, exceedingly lament their negligence. They 
then wish, “O that I had been a thousand times 
more holy, more heavenly, more laborious for my 
soul! The world accuses me for doing too much, 
but my own conscience accuses me for doing too 
little. It is far easier bearing the scoffs of the 
world than the lashes of conscience. I had rather 


172 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


be reproached by the devil for seeking salvation, 
than reproved of God for neglecting it.” How do 
their failings thus wound and disquiet those who 
have. been the wonder of the world for their heav- 
enly conversation. 

It is for want of diligence that heaven ttself ts lost. 
When they that have “heard the word, and anon. 
with joy received it, and have done many things, 
and heard” the ministers of Christ gladly, shall yet 
perish, should not this rouse us out of our security ? 
How far hath many a man followed, Christ, and 
yet forsaken him when all worldly interests and 
hopes were to be renounced. God hath resolved 
that heaven shall not be had on easier terms. 
Rest must always follow labor. ‘‘ Without holli- 
ness no man shall see the Lord.” Seriousness is 
the very thing wherein consists our sincerity. If 
thou art not serious, thou art not a Christian. It 
is not only a high degree in Christianity, but the 
very life and essence of it. As fencers upon a stage 
differ from soldiers fighting for their lives, so hypo- 
erites differ from serious Christians. If men could 
be saved without this serious diligence, they would 
never regard it; all the excellencies of God’s ways 
would never entice them. But when God hath 
resolved that, without serious diligence here, we 
shall not rest hereafter, is it not wisdom to exert 
ourselves to the uttermost ? 

6. But to persuade thee, if possible, reader, 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 173 


to be serious in thy endeavors for heaven, let 
me add more considerations : as, for instance, con- 
sider, 

God is in earnest with you, and why should you 
not be so with him? In his commands, his threat- 
enings, his promises, he means as he speaks. In 
his judgments he is serious. Was he not so when 
he drowned the world, when he consumed Sodom 
and Gomorrah, and when he scattered the Jews? 
Is it time, then, to trifle with God? Jesus Christ 
Was serious in purchasing our redemption. In 
teaching, he neglected his meat and drink: in 
prayer, he continued all night : in doing good, his 
friends thought him beside himself: in suffering, 


_ he fasted forty days, was tempted, betrayed, spit 


upon, buffeted, crowned with thorns, sweat drops 
of blood, was crucified, pierced, died. There was 
no jesting in all this. And should we not be serious 
in seeking our own salvation ? 

The Holy Spirit is serious in sounbrens us to be 
happy. is motions are frequent, pressing, and 
importunate. ‘He striveth with us.” He is grieved 
when we resist him; and should we not be serious, 
then, in obeying and yielding to his motions? God 
is serious in hearing our prayers and bestowing his 
mercies. He is afflicted with us. He “regardeth 
every groan and sigh, and puts every tear into his 
bottle.” The next time thou art in trouble thou 
wilt beg for a serious regard of thy prayers. And 


174 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


shall we expect real mercies, when we are slight 
and superficial in the work of God? 

The ministers of Christ are serious in exhorting 
and instructing you. They beg of God, and of 
you; and long more for the salvation of your souls 
than for. any worldly good. If they kill themselves 
by their labor, or suffer martyrdom for preaching 
the gospel, they think their lives are well bestowed, 
so that they prevail for the saving of your souls. 
And shall other men be so careful and self-denying 
for your salvation, and you be so careless and neg- 
ligent of your own? 

How diligent and serious are all the-creatures in 
serving you! What haste makes the sun to com- 
pass the world. The fountains are always flow- 
ing for thy use; the rivers still running; spring 
and harvest keep their times. How hard does thy 
ox labor for thee from day to day; how speedily 
does thy horse travel with thee. And shalt thou 
only be negligent? _ Shall all these be so serious 
in serving thee, and thou so careless in thy service 
to God? | 

The servants of the world and the devil are serious 
and diligent. They work asif they could never do 
enough; they make haste, as if afraid of coming to 
hell too late; they bear down ministers, sermons, 
and all before them. And shall they be more dili- 
gent for damnation than thou for salvation? Hast 
thou not a better Master, sweeter employment, 


NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 175 


greater encouragements, and a better reward? 
Time was when thou wast serious thyself in serv- 
ing Satan and the flesh, if it be not so yet. How 
eagerly didst thou follow thy sports, thy evil com- 
pany, and sinful delights. And wilt thou not now 
be as earnest and violent for God? You are to this 
day in earnest about the things of this life. Ifyou 
are sick or in pain, what serious complaints do you 
utter. If you are poor, how hard do you labor for a 
livelihood. And is not the business of your salva- 
tion of far greater moment ? 

There ts no gesting in heaven or hell. The saints 
have a real happiness, and the damned a real misery. 
There are no remiss or sleepy praises in heaven, 
nor such lamentations in hell. All there are in 
earnest. When thou, reader, shalt come to death 
and judgment, O what deep, heart-piercing thoughts 
wilt thou have of eternity! Methinks I foresee thee 
already astonished to think how thou couldst pos- 
sibly make so light of these things. Methinks I 
even hear thee crying out of thy stupidity and mad- 
ness. — 

And now, reader, having laid down these unde- 
niable arguments, I do, in the name of God, demand 
thy resolution: wilt.thou yield obedience or not? 
I am confident thy conscience is convinced of thy 
duty. Darest thou now go on in thy common, care- 
less course, against the plain evidence of reason and 
commands of fxod, and against the light of thy own 


176 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


conscience? Darest thou live as loosely, sin as 
boldly, and pray as seldom as before? Darest thou 
profane the Sabbath, slight the service of God, 
and think of thine everlasting state as carelessly 
as before? Or dost thou not rather resolve to 
‘‘oird up the loins of thy mind,” and set thyself 
wholly to the work of thy salvation, and break 
through the oppositions, and slight the scoffs and 
persecutions of the world, and “lay aside every 
weight and the sin which doth so easily beset thee, 
_ and run with patience the race that is before thee?” 
LT hope these are thy full resolutions. Yet, because 
I know the obstinacy of the heart of man, and be- 
cause I am solicitous that thy soul should live, I 
entreat thy attention to the following questions : 
and I command thee from God, that thou stifle not 
thy conscience nor resist conviction; but answer 
them faithfully, and obey accordingly. 

If, by being diligent in godliness, you could grow 
rich, get honor or preferment in the world, be re- 
covered from sickness, or live for ever in prosperity 
on earth, what lives would you lead, and what 
pains would you take in the service of God? And 
is not the saints’ rest a more excellent happiness 
than all this? If it were felony to break the Sab- 
bath, neglect secret or family worship, or be loose 
in your lives, what manner of persons would you 
then be? And is not eternal death more terrible 
than temporal? If God ‘usually punished with 


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NECESSITY OF SEEKINGIT. 4 477 


some present judgment every act of sin, as he did 
the lie of Ananias and Sapphira, what kind of lives 
would you lead? And is not eternal wrath far 


_ more terrible? If one of your acquaintance should 
' come from the dead and tell you that he suffered 
_ the torments of hell for those sins you are guilty of, 


what manner of persons would you be afterwards ? 


_ How much more should the warnings of God aflright 
you. If you knew that this were the last day you 
_ had to live in the world, how would you spend it? 
_ And you know not but it may be your last, and are 


sure your last is near. If you had seen the general 
dissolution of the world, and all the pomp and glory 


' of it consumed to ashes, what would such a sight 


mene 


persuade you to do? Such a sight you shall cer- 
tainly see. If you had seen the judgment-seat and 
the books opened, and the wicked stand trembling 
on the left hand of the Judge, and the godly re- 
joicing on the right hand, and their different sen- 
tences pronounced, what persons would you have 
been after such a sight? This sight you shall one 
day surely see. If you had seen hell open, and all 
the damned there in their endless torments; also 
heaven opened, as Stephen did, and all the saints 
there triumphing in glory, what a life would you 
lead after such sights?. These you will see before 
it be long. If you had lain-in hell but one year, or 
one day or hour, and there felt the torments you 


now hear of, how seriously would you then speak 
Saints’ Rest. 12 


178 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of hell, and pray against it. And will you not take 
God’s word for the truth of this, except you feel it ? 
Or, if you had possessed the glory of heaven but one 
year, what pains would you take rather than be 
deprived of such incomparable glory. 

Thus I have said enough, if not to stir up the 
sinner to a serious working out his salvation, yet 
at least to silence him, and leave him inexcusable 
at the judgment of God. Only as we do by our 
friends when they are dead, and our words and 
actions can do them no good, yet to testify our 
affection for them we weep and mourn, so will I 
also do for these unhappy souls. It makes my heart 


tremble to think how they will stand before the — 


Lord confounded and speechless. "When he shall 
say, “‘Was the world or Satan a better friend to 
you than I, or had they done for you more than I 
had done?. Try now whether they will save you, 
or recompense you for the loss of heaven, or be as 
good to you as I would have been”’—what will the 
wretched sinner answer to any of this? But 
though man will not hear, we may hope i m ator 
ing to God: 

‘“‘O thou that didst weep and groan in spirit over 
a dead Lazarus, pity these dead and senseless souls, 
till they are able to weep and groan in pity to theni- 
selves. As thou hast bid thy servants speak, so 
speak now thyself. They will hear thy voice 
speaking to their hearts, who will not hear mine 


’ 
7 





NECESSITY OF SEEKING IT. 179 


speaking to their ears. Lord, thou hast knocked 
long at these hearts in vain ; now break the doors 
and enter in.” 

To show the godly why they, above all men, 
should be laborious for heaven, I desire to ‘ask them, 
What manner of persons should those be whom God 
hath chosen to be vessels of mercy ; who have felt 
the smart of their negligence in their new birth, 
in their troubles of conscience, in their doubts and 
fears, and in other sharp afflictions; who have 
often confessed their sins of negligence to God in 
prayer ; who have bound themselves to God by so 
many covenants? What manner of persons should 
they be who are near to God as the children of his 
family ; who have tasted such sweetness in diligent 
obedience; who are many of them so uncertain 
what shall everlastingly become of their souls? 
What manner of persons should -they be in holiness, 
whose sanctification is so imperfect ; whose lives 
and duties are so important to the saving or de- 
‘stroying a multitude of souls; and on whom the 
glory of the great God so much depends? Since 
these things are so, I charge thee, Christian, ‘in 
thy Master’s’ name, to consider and resolve the 
question, ‘‘What manner of persons ought we to 
be in all holy conversation and godliness?” And 
let thy life answer the question as well as thy 
tongue. 


180 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


HOW TO DISCERN OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Self-examination urged, 1. From the possibility of arriving 
at a certainty; 2. From the hinderances which will be 
thrown in our way by Satan, sinners, our own hearts, and 
many other causes; 3. From considering how easy, com- 
mon, and dangerous it is to be mistaken; that trying will 
not be so painful as the neglect; that God will soon try 
us, and that to try ourselves will be profitable. 4. Direc- 
tions how to try ourselves. 5. Marks for trial, particularly, 
Do we make God our chief good? Do we heartily accept 
of Christ for our Lord and Saviour ? 


Is there such a glorious rest so near at hand, 
and shall none enjoy it but the people of God? 
What mean most of the world, then, to live so con- 
tentedly without assurance of their interest in this 
rest, and neglect the trying of their title to it? 
When the Lord has so fully opened the blessedness 
of that kingdom which none but obedient believers 
shall possess, and so fully expressed those torments 
which the rest of the world must eternally suffer, 
methinks they that believe this to be certainly true 
should never be at any quiet in themselves till they 
are fully assured of their being heirs of the kingdom. 
Lord, what a strange madness is this, that men who 
know they must presently enter upon unchangeable 
joy or pain, should yet live as uncertain what shall 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 18] 


be_ their doom as if they had never heard of any 
such state ; yea, and live as quietly and merrily in 
this uncertainty as if all were made sure, and there 
were no danger! Are these men alive or dead; 
are they awake or asleep? What do they think 
on? Where are their hearts? If they have but a 
weighty suit at law, how careful are they to know 
whether it will go for or against them. If they 
were to be tried for their lives at an earthly bar, 
how careful would they be to know whether they 
should be saved or condemned, especially if their 
care might surely save them. If they be danger- 
ously -sick, they will inquire of the physician, 
“What think you, sir; shall I escape or not?” 
But in the business of their salvation they are con- 
tent to be uncertain. 

If you ask of most men ‘a reason of the hope 
that is in them,” they will say, ‘Because God is 
merciful, and Christ died for sinners,” and the like 
general reasons, which any man in the world may 
give as well as they; but put them to prove their 
interest in Christ and in the saving mercy of God, 
and they can say nothing to the purpose. If God 
or man should say to one of them, “ Friend, what 
_is the state of thy soul? Isit regenerate, sanctified, 
and pardoned, or not?’» He would say as Cain of 
Abel, “I know not; am I my soul’s keeper? I 
hope well; Itrust God with my soul ; I shall speed 
as well'as other men do; I thank.God I never made 


182 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


any doubt of my salvation.” Thou hast cause to 
doubt because thou didst never doubt, and yet more 
because thou hast been so careless in thy confidence. 
What do thy expressions discover but a wilful neg- 
~ lect of thy own salvation; as a shiprnaster that 
should let his vessel alone, and say, ‘‘I will ven- 
ture it among the rocks and waves and winds; I 
will trust God with it; it will speed as well as 
other vessels.”? What horrible abuse of God is this, 
to pretend to trust God to cloak their own wilful 
negligence. If thou didst really trust God, thou 
wouldst also be ruled by him, and trust him in his 
own appointed way. He requires thee to give 
‘diligence to make thy calling and election sure,” 
and so trust him. He hath marked out a-way.in 
Scripture by which thou art charged to search and 
try thyself, and mayest arrive at certainty. Were 
he not a foolish traveller that would hold on his 
way when he does not know whether he be right 
or wrong, and say, “I hope I am right; I will go 
on, and trust in God?” Art thou not guilty of 
this folly in thy travel to eternity ; not consider- 
ing that a little serious inquiry whether thy way 
be right might save thee a great deal of Labor; 
which thou bestowest in vain, and must undo 
again, or else thou wilt miss of salvation and umdo 
thyself? 

How canst thou think or speak of the tions God 
without terror, as long as thou art uncertain wheth- 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 183 


er he be thy father or thy enemy, and knowest 
not but all his perfections may be employed against 
thee; or of Jesus Christ, when thou knowest not 
whether his blood hath purged thy soul, whether 
he -will condemn or acquit thee in judgment; or 
whether he be the foundation of thy happiness, or 
a stone of stumbling to break thee and grind thee 
to powder? How canst thou open the Bible and 
read a chapter, but it should terrify thee? Me- 
thinks every leaf should be to thee as Belshazzar’s 
writing on the wall, except only that which draws 
thee to try and reform. If thou readest the prom- 
ises, thou knowest not whether they shall be ful- 
filled to thee. If thou readest the threatenings, for 
any thing thou knowest thou readest thy own sen- 
tence. No wonder thou art an enemy to plain 
preaching, and sayest of the minister, as Ahab of 
the prophet, ‘‘I hate him; for he doth not prophesy 
good concerning me, but evil.’”’ How canst thou 
without terror join in prayer? When thou receiv- 
est the Lord’s supper, thou knowest not whether it 
be thy bane or bliss. What comfort canst thou 
find in thy friends and honors and houses and lands, 
till thou knowest thou hast the love of God with 
them, and shalt have rest with him when thou 
leavest them? Offer a prisoner, before he knows 
his sentenee, either music, or clothes, or preferment ; 
what are they to him till he knows he shall escape 
with his life? for if he knows he must die the next 


184 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


day, it will be small comfort to die rich or honor- 
able. Methinks it should be so with thee till thou 
knowest thy eternal state. When thou lest down 
to take thy rest, methinks the uncertainty of thy 
salvation should keep thee waking, or amaze thee 
in thy dreams and trouble thy sleep. Doth it not 
grieve thee to see the people of God so comfortable 
in their way to glory, when thou hast no good hope 
of ever enjoying it thyself? How canst thou think 
of thy dying hour? Thou knowest it is near, and 
there is no avoiding it, nor any remedy found out 
that can prevent it. If thou shouldst die this day— 
and who knows “what a day may bring forth ?”— 
thou art not certain whether thou shalt go to heaven 
or hell. And canst thou be merry till thou hast 
escaped from this dangerous state? What shift dost 
thou make to preserve thy heart from horror, when 
thou rememberest the great judgment day, and 
everlasting flames? When thou hearest of it, dost 
thou not tremble as Felix? Ifthe “keepers shook, 
and became as dead men, when they saw the angel 
come and roll back the stone from Christ’s sepul- 
chre,” how canst thou think of living in hell with 
devils, till thou hast some well-grounded assurance 
that thou shalt escape it? Thy bed is very soft, 
or thy heart is very hard, if thou canst sleep soundly 
in this uncertain case. 

If this general uncertainty of the world about 
their salvation were remediless, then must it be 


* 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 185 


borne as other unavoidable miseries. But alas, the 
common cause is wilful negligence. Men will not 
be persuaded to use the remedy. The great means 
to conquer this uncertainty is self-examination, or 
the serious and diligent trying of a man’s heart and 
state by the rule of Scripture. Either men under- 
stand not the nature and use of this duty, or else 
they will not be at the pains to try. Go through a 
congregation of a thousand men, and how few of 
them wall you find that ever bestowed one hour in 
all their lives in a close examination of their title to 
heaven. Ask your own conscience, reader, when 
was the time, and where was the place, that ever 
you solemnly took your heart to task, asin the sight 
of God, and examined it by Scripture whether it be 
renewed or not; whether it be holy or not; whether 
it be set most on God or the creatures, on heaven 
or earth. And when did you follow on this exam- 
ination till you had discovered your condition, and 
pass sentence on yourself accordingly ? 
_ But since this is a work of so high importance, 
and so commonly neglected, I will show that it is 
possible, by trying, to come to a certainty; then 
show what hinders men from trying and knowing 
their state; and then offer motives to examine, and 
directions, together with some marks out of Scrip- 
ture by which men may try, and certainly know 
whether they are the people of God or not. 

1. Scripture shows that the certainty of salvation 


186 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


may be attained, and ought to be labored for, when 
it tells us so frequently that the saints before us 
have known their justification and future salva- 
tion; when it declares that ‘‘ whosoever believeth 
in Christ shall not perish, but have everlasting 
life ;’ which it would be vain to declare, if we can- 
not know ourselves to be believers or not; when it 
makes such a wide difference between the children 
of God and the children of the devil; when it bids 
us ‘give diligence to make our calling and election 
sure ;” and earnestly urges us to ‘‘examine, prove, 
know our own selves, whether we be in the faith; 
and whether Jesus Christ be in us, or we be repro- 
bates ;” also, when its precepts require. us to rejoice 
always, to call God our Father, to live in his 
praises, to-love Christ’s appearing, to wish that he 
may come quickly, and to comfort ourselves with 
the mention of it. But who can do any of these 
heartily, that is not, in some measure, sure that he 
is the child of God? 

2. Among the many hinderances which keep 
men from self-examination, we cannot doubt but 
Satan will do his part. If all the power he hath, 
or all the means and instruments he can employ 
can do it, he will be sure, above all duties, to keep 
you from this. He is loath that the godly should 
have the joy, assurance, and advantage against 
corruption, which the faithful performance of self- 
examination would procure them. As for the 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 187 


ungodly, he knows if they should once earnestly 
examine, they would find out his deceits and their 
own danger, and so be very likely to escape him. 
How could he get so many millions to hell willingly, 
if they knew they were going thither? And how 
could they avoid knowing it, if they did but thor- 
oughly examine, having such a clear light and sure 
rule in the Scripture to discover it? If the snare 
be not hid, the bird will escape it. Satan knows 
how to angle for souls better than to show them the 
hook and line, or fright them away with a noise, or 
with his own appearance. Therefore he labors to 
keep them from a searching ministry; or to keep 
the minister from helping them to search; or to 
take off the edge of the word, that it may not pierce 
and divide; or to turn away their thoughts ; or to 
possess them with prejudice. Satan knows when 
the minister has provided a searching sermon, fitted 
to the state and necessity of a hearer; and there- 
fore he will keep him away that day, if it be pos- 
sible, or cast him into a sleep, or steal away the 
word by the cares and talk of the world, or some 
way prevent its operation. | 
Another great hinderance to self-examination 
arises from wicked men. Their example, their 
merry company and discourse, their continually 
insisting on worldly concerns, their raillery and 
scofis at godly persons; also their persuasions, 
allurements, and threats, are all of them exceed- 


188 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


ingly great temptations to security. God doth 
scarcely ever open the eyes of a poor sinner to see 
that his way is wrong, but presently there is a mul- 
titude of Satan’s apostles ready to deceive and , 
settle him again in the quiet possession of his 
former master. 

“What,” say they, “do you make a doubt of 
your salvation, who have lived so well, and done 
nobody any harm? God is merciful; and if such 
as you shall not be saved, God help a great many. 
What do you think of all your forefathers? And 
what will become of all your friends and neighbors 
that live as you do? Will they all be damned? 
Come, come, if you hearken to these preachers they 
will drive you out of your senses. Are not all men 
sinners, and did not Christ die to save sinners? 
Never trouble your head with these thoughts, and 
you shall do well.” 

O, how many thousands have such charms kept 
asleep in deceit and security till death and hell 
have awakened them. The Lord calls to the sinner, 
‘and tells him, ‘The gate is strait, the way is nar- 
row, and few find it; try and examine yourself ; 
give diligence to make sure.” The world cries, 
‘‘Never doubt, never trouble yourself with these 
thoughts.” In this strait, smner, consider it -is 
Christ, and not your forefathers, or neighbors, or 
friends, that must judge you at last; and if Christ 
condemn you, these cannot save you; therefore 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 189 


common reason may tell you that it is not from the 
words of ignorant men, but from the word of God, 
you must gain your hope of salvation. When Ahab 
would inquire among the multitude of flattering 
prophets, it was his death. They can flatter men 
into the snare, but they cannot tell how to bring 
them out. ‘Let no man deceive you with vain 
words; for because of these things cometh the 
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience : 
be not ye therefore partakers with them.” 

But the greatest hinderances are in men’s own 
hearts. Some are-so ignorant that they know not 
what self-examination is, nor what a minister means 
when he persuades them to try themselves; or they 
know not that there is any necessity for it, but think 
every man is bound to believe that his sins are par- 
doned, whether it be true or false, and that it is a 
great fault to make any question of it; or they do 
not think that assurance can be attained; or that 
there is any great difference between one man and 
another, but that we are all Christians, and there- 
fore need not trouble ourselves any further ; or at 
least they know not wherein the difference les. 
They have as gross an idea of regeneration as Nico- 
demus had. Some will not believe that God will 
ever make such a difference between men in the 
life to come, and therefore will not search them- 
selves whether they differ here. Some are so stu- 
pefied, say what we can to them, that they lay it 


190 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


not to heart, but give us the hearing, and there is 
the end. Some are so possessed with self-love and 
pride, that they will not so much as suspect they 
are in danger: like a proud tradesman, who scorns 
the prudent advice of casting up his books ; or like 
fond parents, who will not believe or hear any evil 
of their children. Some are so guilty that they 
dare not try themselves, and yet they dare venture 
on a more dreadful trial. Some are so in love with 
sin, and so dislike the way of God, that they dare 
not try their ways, lest they be forced from the 
course they love to that which they loathe. Some 
are so resolved never to change their present state, 
that they neglect examination as a useless thing. 
Before they will seek a new way, when they have © 
lived so long and gone so far, they will put their 

eternal state to hazard, come of it what will. 

Many men are so busy in the world that they can- 

not set themselves to the~trying of their title to 

heaven. Others are so clogged with slothfulness 

of spirit that they will not be at the pains of an 

hour’s examination of their own hearts. But the 

most common and dangerous impediment is that 

false faith and hope, commonly called presumption, | 
which bears up the hearts of the greatest part of 
the world, and so cole them from supectt their 

danger. 

And if a man howl break through all these hin- 
derances, and set upon the duty of self-examination, 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 191 


yet assurance is not presently attained. Too many 
deceive themselves in their inquiries after it, through 
one or other of the following causes: there is such 
confusion and darkness in the soul of man, especially 
of an unregenerate man, that he can scarcely tell 
what he does, or what is in him. As in a*house 
where nothing is in its proper place, it will be diffi- 
cult to find what is wanted, so it is in the heart 
where all things are in disorder. Most men accus- 
tom themselves to be strangers at home, and too 
little observe the temper and motions of their own 
hearts. Many are resolved what to judge before 
they try ; like a bribed judge, who examines as if 
he would judge uprightly, when he is previously 
resolved which way the cause shall go. Men are 
partial in their own cause; ready to think their . 
great sins small, and their small sins none; their 
gifts of nature to be the work of grace, and to say, 
‘All these have I kept from my youth;” “I am 
rich, and increased in goods, and have need of 
nothing.” Most men search but by the halves. If 
it will not easily and quickly be done, they are dis- 
couraged, and leave off. They try themselves by 
false marks and rules, not knowing wherein the 
truth of Christianity consists; some looking beyond, 
and some short of the scripture standard. And fre- 
quently they fail in this work by attempting it in 
their own strength. As some expect the Spirit 
should do it without them, so others attempt it 


192 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


themselves, without seeking or expecting the help 
of the Spirit. Both these will certainly fail of 
assurance. 

Some other hinderances keep even true Chris- 
tians from comfortable certainty. As, for instance, 
the weakness of grace. Small things are hardly 
discerned. Most Christians content themselves 
with a small measure of grace, and do not follow 
on to spiritual strength and manhood. The chief 
remedy for such would be to follow on in duty. till 
their graces be increased. Wait upon God in the 
use of his prescribed means, and he will undoubt- 
edly bless you with increase. O that Christians 
would bestow most of that time in getting more 
grace, which they bestow in anxious doubtings 
whether they have any or none; and lay out those 
serious affections in praying for more grace, which 
they bestow in fruitless complaints. I beseech thee, 
Christian, take this advice as from God; and then, 
when thou believest strongly, and lovest fervently, 
thou canst no more doubt of thy faith and love, 
than a man that is very hot can doubt of his 
warmth, or a man that is strong and vigorous can 
doubt of his being alive. 

Christians hinder their own comfort by looking 
more at signs which tell them what they are, than 
at precepts which tell them what they should do: 
as if their present must needs be their everlasting 
state; and if they be now unpardoned, there were 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 193 


no xemedy. ' Were he not mad that would lie weep- 
ing because he is not pardoned, when his prince _ 
' stands by all the while offering him a pardon, and 
persuading him to accept of it? Justifying faith, 
Christian, «is not thy persuasion of God’s special 
love to thee, but thy accepting Christ to make thee 
lovely.’ It is far better to accept Christ as offered, 
than spend so much time in doubting whether we 
have Christ or not. 

Another cause of distress to Christians is their 
mistaking assurance for the joy that sometimes 
accompanies it: as if a child should think himself 
a son no longer than while he sees the smiles of his 
father’s face, or hears the comfortable expressions of 
his mouth; and as if the father ceased to be a father 
whenever he ceased those smiles and speeches. 

The trouble of souls is also increased by their 
not knowing the ordinary way of God’s conveying 
comfort. They think they have nothing to do but 
to wait when God will bestow it. But they must 
know that the matter of their comfort is in the 
promises, and thence they must draw it as often 
as they expect it, by daily and diligently meditat- 
ing upon the promises ; and in this way they may 
expect the Spirit will communicate comfort to their 
souls. The joy of the promises and the joy of the 
Holy Ghost are one: add to this their expecting a 
greater measure of assurance than God usually 
bestows. As long as they have any doubting, they 


Saints? Rest, 13 


194 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


think they have no assurance. They consider not 
that there are many degrees of certainty. While — 
they are here, they shall “know but in part.” Add 
also their deriving their comfort at first from insuffi- 
cient grounds.. This may be the case of a gracious _ 
soul, who hath better grounds, but doth not see | 
them. As an infant hath life before he knoweth 
it, and many misapprehensions of himself and other 
things, yet it will not follow that he hath no life. 
So when Christians find a flaw in their first com- 
forts, they are not to judge it a flaw in their 
safety. 

Many continue doubting through the exceeding 
weakness of their natural powers. Many honest 
hearts have weak heads, and know not how to per- 
form the work of self-trial. ‘They will acknow- 
ledge the premises, and yet deny the apparent con- 
clusion. If God do not some other way supply the 
defect of their reason, I see not how they should 
have clear and settled peace. 

One great and too common cause of distress is the 
secret maintaining of some known sin. This abates 
the degree of our graces, and so makes them more 
undiscernible. It obscures that which it destroys 
not; for it bears such sway that grace is not in 
action, nor seems to stir, nor is scarce heard speak, 
for the noise of this corruption. It puts out- or 
dims the eye of the soul, and stupefies it, that it 
can neither see nor feel its own condition. But 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 195 


especially it provokes God to withdraw himself, his 
comforts, and the assistance of his Spirit, without 
which we may search long enough before we have 
assurance. God hath made a separation between 
sin and peace. As long as thou dost. cherish thy 
pride, thy love of the world, the desires of the flesh, 
or any unchristian practice, thou expectest comfort 
in vain. If a man “‘setteth up his idols in his 
heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his in- 
iquity before his face, and cometh” to a minister, or 
to God, ‘‘to inquire” for comfort, instead of com- 
forting him, God. “will answer him that cometh 
according to the multitude of his idols.” 

Another very great and common cause of the 
want of comfort is, that grace is not kept in con- 
stant and lively exercise. The way of painful duty 
is the way of fullest comfort. Peace and comfort 
are Christ's great encouragements to faithfulness 
and obedience ; and therefore, though our obedience 
does not merit them, yet. they usually rise and fall 
with our diligence in duty. As prayer must have 
faith and fervency to procure it success, besides the 
blood and intercession of Christ, so must all other 
parts of our obedience. If thou growest seldom and 
formal and cold in duty, especially in thy secret 
prayers to God, and yet findest no abatement in thy 
joys, I cannot but fear thy joys are either carnal or 
diabolical. Besides, grace is never apparent and 
sensible to the soul but while it is in action; there- 


196 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


fore want of action must cause want of assurance. 
And the action of the soul upon such excellent 
objects naturally bringeth consolation withit. The 
very act of loving God, in Christ, is inexpressibly 
sweet. The soul that is best furnished with grace, 
when it is not in action is like a lute well stringed 
and tuned, which, while it lieth still, maketh no 
more music than a common piece of wood; but 
when it is handled by a skilful musician, the melody 
is delightful. Some degree of comfort follows every 
good action, as heat accompanies fire, and as beams 
and influence issue from the sun. A man that is 
cold should labor till heat be excited; so he that 
wants assurance must not stand still, but exercise 
his graces till his doubts vanish. 

The want of consolation in the soul is also very 
commonly owing to bodily melancholy. It is no 
more strange for a conscientious man, under mel- 
ancholy, to doubt and fear and despair, than for a 
sick man to groan, or a child to cry when it is chas- 
tised. Without the physician in this case, the labors 
of the divine are usually in vain. You may silence, 
but you cannot comfort such persons. You may 
make them confess they have some grace, and yet 
cannot bring them to the comfortable conclusion. 
All the good thoughts of their state which you can 
possibly help them to, are seldom above a day or 
two old. They cry out of sin and the wrath of 
God, when the chief cause is in their bodily disease. 


r . 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 197 


3. As motives to the duty of self-examination, I 
entreat you to consider the following. 

To be deceived about your title to heaven is very 
easy. Many are now in hell that never suspected 
any falsehood in their hearts, that excelled in 
worldly wisdom, that lived in the clear light of the 
gospel, and even preached against the negligence of 
others. To be mistaken in this great point is also 
very common. It is the case of most in the world. 
In the old world, and in Sodom, we find none that 
were in any fear of judgment. Almost all men 
among us verily expect to be saved; yet Christ tells 
us, ‘‘there be few that find the strait gate and nar- 
row way which leadeth unto life.’ And if such 
multitudes are deceived, should we not search the 
more diligently, lest we should be deceived as well 
as they? Nothing is more dangerous than to be 
thus mistaken. If the godly judge their state worse 
than it is, the consequences of this mistake will be 
sorrowful ; but the mischief flowing from the mis- 
take of the ungodly is unspeakable. It will exceed- 
ingly confirm them in the service of Satan. It will 
render ineffectual the means that should do them 
good. It will keep a man from compassionating 
his own soul. It is a case of the greatest moment, 
where everlasting salvation or damnation is to be 
determined. And if you mistake till death, you 
are wndone for ever. Seeing then the danger is so 
great, what wise man would not follow the search 


198 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of his heart both day and night till he were assured 
of his safety? Consider how small the labor of 
this duty in comparison with that sorrow which fol- 
lows its neglect. You can endure to toil and sweat 
from year to year to prevent poverty ; and why not 
spend a little time in self-examination, to prevent 
eternal misery? By neglecting this duty you can 
scarce do Satan a greater pleasure, or yourself a 
greater injury. Itis the grand design of the devil, 
in all his temptations, to deceive you, and keep you 
ignorant of your danger till you feel the everlasting 
flames; and will you join with him to deceive your- 
self? If you do this for him, you do the greatest 
part of his work. And hath he deserved so well of 
you, that you should assist him in such a design as 
your damnation? The time is nigh when God will 
search you. If it be but in this life by affliction, it 
will make you wish that you had tried and judged 
yourself, that you might have escaped the judgment 
of God. It was a terrible voice to Adam, ‘“‘ Where 
art thou? Hast thou eaten of the tree?” And to 
Cain, ‘‘ Where is thy brother?” Men “consider not 
in their hearts that IJ,” saith the Lord, ‘‘remember 
all their wickedness; now their own doings have 
beset them about ; they are before my face.” 
Consider also what would be the sweet effects of 
this selfexamination. If thou. be upright and 
godly, it will lead thee straight towards assurance 
of God's love; if thou be not, though it will trouble 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 199 


thee at the present, yet it will tend to thy happi- 
ness, and at length lead thee to the assurance of 
that happmess. Is it not a desirable thing to know 
what shall befall us hereafter; especially what 
shall befall our souls, and what place and state 
we must be in for ever? And as the very know- 
ledge itself is desirable, how much greater will the 
comfort be of that certainty of salvation. What 
sweet thoughts wilt thou have of God. All that 
greatness and justice which is the terror of others 
will be thy joy. How sweet may be thy thoughts 
of Christ, and the blood he hath shed, and the bene- 
fits he hath procured. How welcome will the 
word of God be to thee, and how beautiful the 
very feet of those that bring it. How sweet will 
be the promises when thou art sure they are thine 
own. The very threatenings will occasion thy 
comfort, to remember that thou hast escaped them 
What boldness and comfort mayest thou then have 
in prayer, when thou canst say, ‘Our Father,” in 
full assurance. It will make the Lord’s supper a 
refreshing feast to thy soul. It will multiply the 
sweetness of every common mercy. How comfort- 
ably mayest thou then undergo all afflictions. How 
will it sweeten thy forethoughts of death and judg- 
ment, of heaven and hell. How lively will it make 
thee in the work of the Lord, and how profitable to 
all around thee. What vigor will it infuse into all 
thy graces and affections. How will it kindle thy 


200 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


repentance, inflame thy love, quicken thy desires, 
and confirm thy faith; be a fountain of continual 
rejoicing, overflow thy heart with. thankfulness, 
raise thee high in the delightful work of praise, 
help thee to be heavenly-minded, and render thee 
persevering in all. All these sweet effects of assur- 
ance would make thy life a heaven upon earth. 
Though I am certain these motives have weight 
of reason in them, yet I am jealous, reader, lest you 
lay aside the book as if you had no more. to do, and 
never set yourself to the practice of the duty. The 
case in hand is of the greatest moment—whether 
thou shalt everlastingly live in heaven or hell. I 
here request thee, in behalf of thy soul, nay, I charge 
thee, in the name of the Lord, that thou defer no 
longer, but take thy heart to task in good earnest, 
and think with thyself, ‘Is it so easy, so common, 
and so dangerous to be mistaken? Are there so 
many wrong ways? Is the heart so deceitful? 
Why then do I not search into every corner till I 
know my state? Must I shortly undergo the trial 
at the bar of Christ, and do I not now try myself? 
What a case were I in, should I then fail of salva- 
tion. May I know by a little diligent inquiry now, 
and do I refuse the labor ?” tthe 
But perhaps you will say, “I know not how to 
do it.” In that I am now to give thee directions; 
but, alas, it will be in vain, if thou art not resolved 
to practise them. Wilt thou, therefore, before thou 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 201 


goest any further, here promise, before the Lord, to 
set thyself upon the speedy performance of the duty, 
according to the directions I shall lay down from 
the word of God? I demand nothing unreasonable 
or impossible: it is but to bestow a few hours to 
know what shall become of thee for ever. If a 
neighbor or a friend desired but an hour’s time of 
thee, in conversation or business, or any thing in 
which thou mayest be of service, surely thou 
wouldst not deny it; how much less shouldst thon 
deny this to thyself in so great a matter. I pray 
thee to take from me this request as if, in the 
name of Christ, I presented it to thee on my 
knees; and I will betake me on my knees to 
Christ again, to beg that he will persuade thy 
heart to the duty. 

4. The directions how to examine thyself are 
such as these: Empty thy mind of all other cares 
and thoughts, that they may not distract or divide 
thy mind. This work itself will be enough with- 
out joining others with it. Then fall down before 
God in hearty prayer, desiring the assistance of his 
Spirit to discover to thee the plain truth of thy con- 
dition, and to enlighten thee in the whole progress 
of this work. Make choice of the most convenient 
time and place. Let the place be the most private, 
and the time when you have nothing to interrupt 
you; and, if possible, let it be the present time. 
Have in readiness, either in memory or writing, 


Wa 


202 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


some scriptures, containing the descriptions of the 
saints and the gospel terms of salvation ; and con- 
vince thyself thoroughly of their infallible truth. 
Proceed then to put the question to thyself. Let 
it not be, whether there be any good in thee atall, 
nor whether thou hast such or such a degree and 
measure of grace; but whether such or such @ 
saving grace be in thee in sincerity or not. If thy 
heart draw back from the work, force it on. Lay 
thy command upon it. Let reason interpose, and 
use its authority. Yea, lay the command of God 
upon. it, and charge it to obey, upon the pain of his 
displeasure. Let conscience also do its office, till 
thy heart be excited to the work. Nor let thy 
heart trifle away the time, when it should be dili- 
gently at the work. Do as the psalmist: ‘My 
spirit made diligent search.” He that can prevail 
with his own heart shall also prevail with God. 
If, after all thy pains, thou art still in doubt, then 
seek out for help. Go to one that ‘is godly, expe- 
rienced, able, and faithful, and tell him thy case, 
and desire his best advice. Use the judgment of 
such a one as that of a physician for thy body: 
though this can afford thee no full certainty, yet it 
may be a great help to stay and direct thee. But 
do not make it a pretence to put off thy own self- 
examination. Only use it as one of the last rente- 
dies, when thy own endeavors will not serve. 
When thou hast discovered thy true state, pass 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 9303 


sentence on thyself accordingly ; either that thou 
art a true Christian, or that thou art not. Pass 
not this sentence rashly, nor with self-flattery nor 
with melancholy terrors; but deliberately, truly, 
and according to thy conscience, convinced by 
Scripture and reason. Labor to get thy heart af- 
fected with its condition, according to the sentence 
passed on it. If graceless, think of thy misery ; if 
renewed and sanctified, think what a blessed state 
the Lord hath brought thee into. Pursue these 
thoughts till they have left their impression on thy 
heart. Write this sentence at least in thy memory : 
“At such a time, upon thorough examination, I 
found my state to be thus or thus.” Such a record 
will be very useful to thee hereafter. Trust not 
to this one discovery, so as to try no more; nor let 
it hinder thee in the daily search of thy ways; 
neithér be discouraged if the trial must be often 
repeated. Especially take heed, if unregenerate, 
not to conclude of thy future state by the present. 
Do not say, ‘‘ Because I am ungodly, I shall die so ; 
because I am a hypocrite, I shall continue so.” 
Do not despair. Nothing but thy unwillingness 
can keep thee from Christ, though thou hast 
hitherto abused him and dissembled with him. 

5. Now let me add some marks by which you may 
try your title to the saints’ rest. Iwill only mention 
these two: taking God for thy chief good, and heart- 
ily accepting Christ for thy only Saviour and Lord. 


204 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Every soul that hath a title to this rest places 
his chief happiness in God. This rest consists in 
the full and glorious enjoyment of God. He that. 
makes not God his chief good and ultimate end is 
in heart a pagan anda vile idolater. Let me ask, 
then, dost thou truly account it thy chief happiness 
to enjoy the Lord in glory, or dost thou not? Canst 
thou say, ‘“‘ The Lord is my: portion? Whom have 
I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon 
earth that I desire besides thee.” - If thou be an 
heir of rest, it is thus with thee. Though the flesh 
will be pleading for its own delights, andthe world 
will be creeping into thine affections, yet in thy 
ordinary, settled, prevailing judgment and affec- 
tions, thou preferrest God before all things in the 
world.- Thou makest him the very end of thy de- 
sires and endeavors. The very reason why thou 
hearest and prayest, and desirest to live on earth, 
is chiefly this, that thou mayest seek the Lord, and 
make sure of thy rest. Though thou dost not seek 
it so zealously as thou shouldst, yet it hath the 
chief of thy desires and endeavors, so that nothing 
else is desired or preferred before it. Thou wilt 
think no labor or suffering too great to obtain it. 
And though the flesh may sometimes shrink, yet 
thou art resolved and ready to go through all. Thy 
esteem for it will also be so high, and thy affection 
to it so great, that thou wouldst not exchange thy 
title to it, and hopes of it, for any worldly good 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 9205 


whatsoever. If God-should set before thee an 
eternity of earthly pleasure on the one hand, and 
the saints’ rest on the other, and bid thee take thy 
choice, thou wouldst refuse the world and choose 
this rest. - But if thou art yet unsanctified, then 
thou dost in thy heart prefer thy worldly happiness 
before God; and though thy tongue may say that 
God is thy chief good, yet thy heart doth not so 
esteem him, for the world is the chief end of thy 
desires and endeavors. Thy very heart is set upon 
it. Thy greatest care and labor is to maintain thy 
eredit or fleshly delights. But the life to come 
hath little of thy care or labor. Thou didst never 
perceive so much excellency in the unseen glory of 
another world, as to draw thy heart after it, and 
bring thee to labor heartily forit. The little pains 
thou bestowest for it is but a secondary effort: God 
hath but the world’s leavings: only that time and 
labor which thou canst spare from the world, or 
those few cold and careless thoughts which follow 
thy constant, earnest, and delightful thoughts of 
earthly things. Neither wouldst thou do any thing 
at all for heaven, if thou knewest how to keep the 
world. But lest thou shouldst be turned into hell 
when thou canst keep the world no longer, there- 
fore thou wilt do something. For the same reason, 
thou thinkest the way of God too strict, and wilt 
not be persuaded to the constant labor of walking 
according to the gospel rule; and when it comes 


206 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


to the trial, that thou must forsake Christ or thy 
worldly happiness, then thou wilt venture heaven 
rather than earth, and so wilfully deny thy obe- 
dience to God. And certainly, if God would but 
give thee leave to live in health and wealth for 
ever on earth, thou wouldst think it a -better 
state than the rest of heaven—let them seek for 
heaven that would, thou wouldst think this thy 
chief happiness. This is thy case, if thou art yet 
an unregenerate person, and hast no title to the 
saints’ rest. 

And as thou takest God for thy chief good, so 
thou dost heartily accept of Christ for thy only 
Saviour and Lord, to bring thee to this rest. The 
former mark was the sum of the first and great 
command of the law, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart.” The second mark is 
the sum of the command of the gospel, ‘‘ Believe in 
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” 
And the performance of these two is the whole of 
godliness and Christianity. This mark is but the 
definition of faith. Dost thou heartily consent that 
Christ alone shall be thy Saviour, and no further 
trust to thy duties and works than as means ap- 
pointed in subordination to him; not looking at 
them as in the least measure able to satisfy the 
curse of the law, or as a legal righteousness or any 
part of it; but consent to trust thy salvation on the 
redemption made by Christ? Art thou also con- 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 907 


tent to take him for thy only Lord and King, to 
govern and guide thee by his laws and Spirit, and 
to obey him even when he commandeth the hard- 
est duties, and those which most cross the desires 
of the flesh? Is it thy sorrow when thou breakest 
thy resolution herein, and thy joy when thou keep- 
est closest in obedience to him? Wouldst thou not 
change thy Lord and Master for all the world? 
Thus is it-with every true Christian. . But if thou 
be a hypocrite, it is far otherwise. Thou mayest 
call Christ thy Lord and thy Saviour, but thou 
never foundest thyself so lost without him as to 
drive thee to seek him and trust him, and lay thy 
salvation on him alone; at least, thou didst never 
heartily consent that he should govern thee as thy 
Lord, nor resign thy soul and life to be ruled by 
him, nor take his word for the law of thy thoughts 
and actions. Doubtless thou art willing to be saved 
from hell by Christ when thou diest; but, in the 
meantime, he must command thee no further than 
will consist with thy credit or pleasure or other 
worldly ends. And if he would give thee leave, 
~ thou hadst far rather live after the world and the 
flesh than after the word and the Spirit. And 
though thou mayest now and then have a motion 
or purpose to the contrary, yet this that I have 
mentioned is the ordinary desire and choice of thy 
heart. Thou art therefore no true believer in Christ ; 
for though thou confess him in words, yet in works 


208 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


‘thou dost deny him, ‘being abominable and diso- 
bedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” 
This is the case with those that shall be shut out 
of the saints’ rest. 

Observe, it is the consent of the heart, or will, 
which: I especially lay down to be inquired after. 
I do not ask whether thou be assured of salvation, 
nor whether thou canst believe that thy sins are 
pardoned, and that thou art beloved of God in 
Christ. These are no parts of justifying faith, but 
excellent fruits of it, and they that receive them 
are comforted by them; but perhaps thou mayest 
never receive them while thou livest, and mayest 
yet be a true heir of rest. Do not say then, “I 
cannot believe that my sins are paxdoned, or that 
I am in God’s favor; and therefore I am no true 
believer.” This is a most mistaken conclusion. 
The question is, whether thou dost heartily accept 
of Christ, that thou mayest be pardoned, reconciled 
to God, and so saved. Dost thou consent that He 
shall be thy Lord who hath bought thee, and that 
he shall bring thee. to heaven in his own ‘way? 
This is justifying, saving faith, and the mark by — 
which thou must try thyself. Yet still observe 
that all this consent must be hearty and real, not 
feigned or with reservations. It is not like that of 
the dissembling son, who said, ‘‘I go, sir; and went 
not.’ If any have more of the government of thee 
than Christ, thou art not his disciple. I am sute 


OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST. 209 


these two marks are such as every Christian hath, — 


and none but sincere Christians. O that the Lord 
would now persuade thee to the close performance 
of this self-trial, that thou mayest not tremble 
with horror of soul when the Judge of the world 
shall try thee; but be able so. to prove thy title to 
rest, that the prospect and approach of death and 
judgment may raise thy spirits and fill thee with 
joy. . 

On the whole, if Christians would have comforts 
that will not deceive them, let them make it the 
great labor of their lives to grow in grace, to strength- 
en and advance the interest of Christ in their souls, 
and to weaken and subdue the interest of the flesh. 
Deceive not yourselves with a persuasion that Christ 
hath done all, and left you nothing todo. To over- 
come the world, the flesh, and the devil, and, in 
order to that, to stand always armed upon our 
watch, and valiantly and patiently to fight it out, 
is of great importance to our assurance and salva- 
tion. Indeed, it is so great a part of our baptismal 
obligations, that he who performeth it not is no 
more than a nominal Christian. Not to every one 
that presumptuously believeth, but “to him that 
overcometh, will Christ give to eat of the hidden 
manna; and will give him a white stone, and in 
the stone a new name written, which no man 
knoweth, saving he that receiveth it: he shall eat 
of the tree of life which is in the midst of the 


Saints’ Rest. 14 


~ 


210 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


paradise of God, and shall not be hurt of the second 
death. Christ will confess his name before his 
Father, and before his angels, and make him a pil- 
lar in the temple of God, and he shall go no more 
out ; and will write upon him the name of his God, 
and the name of the city of his God, which is New 
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from 
his God, and will write upon him his new name.”’ 
Yea, “He will grant to him to sit with him on his 
throne, even as he also overcame, and is set down 
with his Father on his throne. He that hath an 
ear, let him. hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
churches.” 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. OTF 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO EXCITE © 
OTHERS TO SEEK THIS REST. 


The author laments that Christians do so little to help others 
to obtain the saints’ rest: J. Shows the nature of this 
duty; particularly, 1. In having our hearts affected with 
the misery of our brethren’s souls; 2. In taking all oppor- 
tunities to instruct them in the way of salvation; 3. In 
promoting their profit by public ordinances. II. Assigns 
various reasons why this duty is so much neglected, and 
‘answers some objections against it. IT]. Urges to the 
discharge of it, by several considerations: 1. Addressed 
to such as have knowledge, learning, and utterance; 
2. Those that are acquainted with sinners; 3. Physicians 
that attend dying men; 4. Persons of wealth and power; 
5. Ministers; 6. And those that are intrusted with the 
eare of children or servants. The chapter concludes with 
an earnest request to Christian parents to be faithful to 
their trust. 


Hatu God set before us such a glorious prize as 
the saints’ rest, and made us capable of such incon- 
ceivable happiness? Why, then, do not all the 
children of this kingdom exert themselves more to . 
help others to the enjoyment of it? Alas, how 
little. are poor souls about us beholden to most of 
us! We see the glory of the kingdom, and they do 
not ; we see the misery of those that are out of it, 
and they do not; we see some wandering quite out 
of the way, and know, if they hold on, they can 


212 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


never come there, and they themselves discern it 
not. And yet we will not seriously show them 
their danger and error, and help to bring them into 
the way, that they may live. Alas, how few 
Christians are there to be found who set themselves 
with all their might to save souls! No thanks to 
us, 1f heaven be not empty, and if the souls of our 
brethren perish not for ever. Considering how im- 
portant this duty is to the glory of God and the 
happiness of men, I will show—how it is to be 
performed ; why it is so much neglected ; and then 
offer some considerations to persuade to It. 

First. Tue puty of exciting and helping others 
to discern thewr trtle to the saints’ rest. This does 
not mean that every man should turn a public 
preacher, or that any should go beyond the bounds 
of their particular calling; much less does it con- 
sist In promoting a party spirit; and, least of all, 
in speaking against men’s faults behind their backs, 
and being silent before their faces. This duty is of 
another nature, and consists of the following things: 
in having our hearts affected with the misery of our 
brethren’s souls, in taking all opportunities to in- 
struct them in the way of salvation, and in pro- 
moting their profit by public ordinances. 

1. Our hearts must be affected with the misery of 
our brethren’s souls. We must be compassionate 
towards them, and yearn after their recovery and 
salvation. If we earnestly longed for their conver- 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 213 


sion, and our hearts were solicitous to do thern 
good, it would set us at work, and God would usu- 
ally bless it. 

2. We must take every opportunity that we pos- 
sibly can to instruct them how to attain salvation. 
If the person be ignorant, labor to make him under- 
stand the chief happiness of man; how far he was 
once possessed of it; the covenant God then made 
with him; how he broke it, and what penalty he 
incurred ; and into what misery he brought him- 
self. Teach him his need of a Redeemer; how 
Christ mercifully interposed, and bore the penalty ; 
what the new covenant is; how men are drawn to 
Christ; and what are the riches and privileges 


_ which believers have in him. If he is not moved 


by these things, then show him the excellency 
of the glory he neglects; the extremity and eter- 
nity of the torments of the damned ; the justice of 
enduring them for wilfully refusing grace; the cer- 
tainty, nearness, and terrors of death and judgment ; 
the vanity of all things below; the sinfulness of 
sin; the preciousness of Christ; the necessity of 
regeneration, faith, and holiness, and their true 
nature. If, after all, you find him entertaining 
false hopes, then urge him to examine his state ; 
show him the necessity of doing so; help him in it; 
nor leave him till you have convinced him of his 
misery and remedy. Show him how vain and 
destructive it is to join Christ and his duties to 


214 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


compose his justifying righteousness. Yet be sure 
to draw him to the use of all means; such as hear- 
ing and reading the word, calling upon God, and 
associating with the godly; persuade him to for- 
sake sin, avoid all temptations to sin, especially 
evil companions, and to wait patiently on God in 
the use of means, as the way in which God will be 
found. 

But, because the manner of performing this work 
is of great moment, observe therefore these rules : 
Enter upon it with rzght intentions. Aim at the 
glory of God in the person’s- salvation. Do it not 
to get a name or esteem to thyself, or to bring 
men to depend upon thee, or to get thee followers ; 
but in obedience to Christ, in imitation of him, and 
tender love to men’s souls. Do not as those who 
labor to reform their children or servants from such 
things as are against their own profit or humor, but 
never seek to save their souls in the way which God 
has appointed. Do it speedily. As you would not 
have them delay their return, do not you delay to 
seek their return. While you are purposing to teach 
and help him, the man goes deeper in debt; wrath 
is heaping up; sin taking root; custom fastens 
him; temptations to sin multiply ; conscience grows 
seared; the heart hardened; the devil rules; 
Christ is shut out; the Spirit is resisted; God is 
daily dishonored ; his law violated; he is robbed of 
that service which he should have; time runs on ; 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 215 


death and judgment are at the door; and what if 
the man die, arid drop into hell while you are pur- 
posing to prevent it. If, in the case of his bodily 
distress, you ‘‘must not say to him, go and come 
again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast 
it by thee ;’ how much less may you delay the suc- 
cor of his soul. That physician is no better than 
a murderer, who negligently delays till his patient 
be dead or past eure. Lay by excuses, then, and all 
lesser business, and “exhort one another daily, 
while it is called to-day, lest any be hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin.” Let your ex- 
hortation proceed from compassion and love. To 
jeer and scoff, to rail and vilify, is not a hkely way 
to reform men, or convert them to God. Go to 
poor sinners with tears in your eyes, that they may 
see you believe them to be miserable, and that you 
unfeignedly pity their case. Deal with them with 
earnest, humble entreaties. Let them perceive it 
is the desire of your heart to do them good; that 
you have no other end but their everlasting happi- 
ness; and that it is your sense of their danger, and 
your love to their souls, that forces you to speak ; 
even because you ‘‘ know the terrors of the Lord,” 
and for fear you should see them in eternal torments. 
Say to them, ‘‘ Friend, you know I seek no advan- 
tage of my own; the method to please you, and 
keep your friendship, were to soothe you in your 
way, or let you alone; but love will not suffer me 


216 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


to see you perish, and be silent. I seek nothing at 
your hands but that which is necessary to your own 
happiness. It is yourself that will have the gain 
and comfort if you come to Christ.” If we were 
thus to go to every ignorant and wicked neighbor, 
what blessed fruit should we quickly see. 

Do it with all possible plaznness and faithfulness. 
Do.not make their sins less than they are, nor en- 
courage them in a false hope. If you see the case 
dangerous, speak plainly: ‘‘ Neighbor, I am afraid 
God has not yet renewed your soul; | fear you are 
not yet recovered ‘from the power of Satan to God ;’ 
I fear you have not chosen Christ- above all, nor 
unfeignedly taken him for your sovereign Lord. If 
you had, surely you durst not so easily disobey him, 
nor neglect his worship in your family and in pub- 
lic; you could not so eagerly follow the world, and 
talk of nothing but the things of the world. -If you 
were ‘in Christ,’ you would be ‘a new creature ; 
old things’ would be ‘passed away, and all things’ 
would ‘become new.’ You would have new 
thoughts, new. conversation, new company, new 
endeavors, and a new life. © Certainly without 
these you can never be saved; you may think oth- 
erwise, and hope otherwise as long as you will, but 
your hopes will all deceive you, and perish with 
you.” Thus must you deal faithfully with men, if, 
ever you intend to do them good. It is not in cur- 
ing men’s souls, as in curing their bodies, where 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 917 


they must not know their danger, lest it hinder the 
cure. They are here agents in their own cure; and 
if they know not their misery, they will never 
bewail it, nor know their need of a Saviour. 

Do it also-seriously, zealously, and effectually. 
Labor to make men know that heaven and hell are 
not matters to be played with, or passed over with 
a few careless thoughts. ‘It is most certain that, 
one of these days, thou shalt be in everlasting joy 
or torment; and doth it not awaken thee? Are 
there so few that find the way of life, so many that 
go the way of death? Is it so hard to escape, so 
easy to miscarry ; and yet you sit still and trifle ? 
What do you mean? The world is passing away ; 
its pleasures, honors, and profits are fading and 
leaving you; eternity isa little before you; God is 
just and jealous; his threatenings are true; the 
great day will be terrible; time runs on; your life 
is uncertain ; you are far behindhand; your case is 
dangerous ; if you die to-morrow, how unready are 
you. With what terror will your soul leave the 
body. And do you yet loiter? Consider, God is 
all this while waiting your leisure; his patience 
beareth ; his long-suffering forbeareth ; his mercy 
entreateth you; Christ offereth you his blood and 
merits; the Spirit is persuading; conscience is 
accusing ; Satan waits to have you. This is your 
time ; now or never. Had you rather burn in heli 
than repent on earth; have devils your tormentors 


218 THE SAINTS’ REST 


than Christ your governor? Will you renounce 
your part in God and glory, rather than renounce 
your sins? O friends, what do you think of these 
things? God hath made you men; do not renounce 
your reason where you should chiefly use it.” Alas, 
it is not a few dull words between jest and earnest, 
between sleeping and waking, that will rouse a 
dead-hearted sinner. Ifa house be on fire, you will 
not make a cold oration on the nature and danger 
of fire, but will run and cry, Fire, fire! To tell a 
man of his sins as softly as Eli did his sons, or to 
reprove him as gently as Jehoshaphat did Ahab, 
“Let not. the king say so,” usually does as much 
harm as good. Loathness to displease men makes 
us undo them. 

Yet, lest you run into extremes, I advise you to 
do it with prudence and discretion. Choose the 
fittest season. Deal not with men when they are 
in a passion, or where they will take it for a dis- 
grace. When the earth is soft the plough will 
enter. Take a man when he is under affliction, or 
newly impressed under.a sermon. Christian faith- 
fulness requires us not only to do good when it falls 
in our way, but to watch for opportunities. Suit 
yourself also to the quality and temper of the per- 
son. You must deal with the ingenious more by 
argument than persuasion. There is need of both 
to the ignorant. The affections of the convinced 
should be chiefly excited. The obstinate must be 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 219 


sharply reproved. The timorous must be dealt with 
tenderly. Love and plainness and seriousness take 
with all; but words of terror some can hardly bear. 
Use also the aptest expressions. Unseemly lan- 
guage makes the hearers loathe the food they should 
live by, especially if they be men of curious ears 
and carnal hearts. - 

Let all your reproofs and exhortations be backed 
with the authority of God. Let sinners be con- 
vinced that you speak not merely your own thoughts. 
Turn them to the very chapter and verse where their 
sin is condemned and their duty commanded. The 
voice of man is contemptible, but the voice of God 
is awful and terrible. They may reject your words 
who dare not reject the words of the Almighty. 

Be frequent with men in this duty of exhortation. 
If we are ‘‘always to pray, and not to faint,” be- 
cause God will have us importunate with himself, 
the same course, no doubt, will be most prevailing 
with men. Therefore we are commanded ‘to 
exhort one another daily,” and ‘‘with all long-suf- 
fering.” The fire is not always brought out of the 
flint at one stroke; nor men’s affections kindled at 
the first exhortation ; and if they were, yet if they 
be not followed, they will soon grow cold again. 
Follow sinners.with your loving and earnest entrea- 
ties, and give them no rest in their sin. This is 
true charity, the way to save men’s souls, and will 
afford you comfort upon review. 


220 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Strive to bring all your exhortations to an «issue. 
If we speak the most convincing words, and all our 
care is over with our speech, we shall seldom pros- 
per in our labors; but God usually blesses their 
labors whose very heart is set upon the conversion 
of their hearers, and who are therefore inquiring 
after the success of their work. If you reprove a 
sin, cease not till the sinner promises you to leave 
it and avoid the occasions of it. Ifyou are exhort- 
ing to a duty, urge for a promise to enter upon it 
without delay. If you would draw men to Christ, 
leave them not till they are brought to confess the 
misery of their present unregenerate state, and the 
necessity of Christ and of a change, and have 
promised you to be faithful in the use of means. 
O that all Christians would take this course with 
all their neighbors that are enslaved to sin, and 
strangers to Christ. 

Once more, be sure your example exhort as well 
as your words. Let them see you constant in all 
the duties to which you persuade them. Let them 
see in your life that superiority to the world which 
your lips reeommend. Let them see, by your con- 
stant labors for heaven, that you indeed believe 
what you would have them believe. A holy and 
heavenly life is a continual sting to the consciences 
of sinners around you, and continually solicits them 
to change their course. 

3. Besides the duty of private admonition, you 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 221 


must endeavor to help men to profit by public ordi- 
mances. In order to that, endeavor to procure for 
them faithful ministers where they are wanting. 
“How shall they hear without a preacher?” Im- 
prove your interest and diligence to this end till 
you prevail. Extend your purposes to the utmost. 
How many souls may be saved by the ministry you 
have procured. It is a higher and nobler charity 
than relieving their bodies.. What abundance of 
good might great men do, if they would support, in 
academical education, such youth as they have first 
carefully chosen for their talents and piety, till they 
should be fit for the ministry ; and when a faithful 
ministry is obtained, help poor souls to receive the 
fruit of it—draw them constantly to attend it— 
remind them often what they have heard, and, if 
it be possible, let them hear it repeated in their 
families or elsewhere—promote their frequent meet- 
ing together besides publicly in the congregation, 
not as a separate church, but as a part of the church 
more diligent than the rest in redeeming time and 
helping the souls of each other heavenward. Labor 
also to keep the ordinances and ministry in esteem+ 
no man will be much wrought on by that which 
he despiseth. An apostle says, “‘We beseech you, 
brethren, to know them who labor among you, and 
are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and 
to esteem them very highly in love, for their works’ 
sake.” 


222 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


_. Secondly, let us inquire what may be the causes 
OF THE GROSS NEGLECT of this duty; that the hin- 
derances, being discovered, may the more easily be 
overcome. 

One hinderance is men’s own sim and guilt. 
They have not themselves been ravished with 
heavenly delights; how then should they draw 
others so earnestly to seek them? They have not 
felt their own lost condition, nor their need of 
Christ, nor the renewing work of the Spirit; how 
then can they discover these to others?. They are 
guilty of the sins they should reprove, and this 
makes them ashamed to reprove. 

Another is, @ secret infidelity prevailing in men’s 
. hearts. Did we verily believe that all the unre- 
generate and unholy shall be eternally tormented, 
how could we refrain from speaking, or avoid burst- 
ing into tears, when we look them in the face, 
especially when they are our near and dear friends? 
Thus doth secret unbelief consume the vigor of each 
grace and duty. O Christian, if ‘you did verily 
believe that your ungodly neighbors, wife, husband, 
or child, should certainly lie for ever in hell, except 
they be thoroughly changed before death shall 
snatch them away, would not this make you ad- 
dress them day and night till they were persuaded? 
Were it not for this cursed unbelief, our own and 
our neighbors’ souls would gain more by us than 
they do. 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 223 


These attempts are also much hindered by our 
want of charity and compassion for men’s souls. 
We look on miserable souls, and pass by, as the 
priest and Levite by the wounded man. What 
though the sinner, wounded by sin and captivated 
by Satan, do not desire thy help himself; yet his 
misery cries aloud. If God had not heard the ery 
of our miseries before he heard the cry of our pray- 
ers, and been moved by his own pity before he was 
moved by our importunity, we might long have 
continued the slaves of Satan. You will pray to 
God for them, to open their eyes and turn their 
hearts; and why not endeavor their conversion, if 
you desire it? And if you do not desire it, why do 
you ask it? Why do you not pray them to consider 
and return, as well as pray to God to convert and 
turn them? If you should see your neighbor fallen 
into a pit, and should pray God to help him out, 
but neither put forth your hand to help him, nor 
once direct him to help himself, would not any man 
censure you for your cruelty and hypocrisy? It is 
as true of the soul as of the body. If any man 
‘‘seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his 
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the 
love of God in him ;” or what love hath he to his 
brother’s soul ?” 

We are also hindered by a base man-pleasing dis- 
position. We are so desirous to keep in credit and 
favor with men, that it makes us most unreasonably 


224 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


neglect our own duty. He is a foolish and unfaith- 
ful physician that will let a sick man die for fear 
of troubling him. If our friends are deranged, we 
please them in nothing that tends to their hurt. 
And yet when they are beside themselves in point 
_ of salvation, and in their madness posting on to 
damnation, we will not stop them for fear of dis- 
pleasing them. How can we be Christians, that 
“love the praise of men more than the praise of 
God?” ‘For if we “seek to please men, we shall 
not be the servants of Christ.” 

It is common to be hindered by sinful dashfulness. 
When we should shame men out of their sins, we 
are ourselves ashamed of our duties. May not 
these sinners condemn us, when they blush not to 
swear, be drunk, or neglect the worship of God ; 
and we blush to tell them of it, and persuade 
them from it? Bashfulness is unseemly in cases 
of necessity. It is not a work to be ashamed of, to 
obey God in persuading men from their sins to 
Christ. Reader, hath not thy conscience told thee 
of thy duty many a time, and urged thee to speak 
to poor sinners; and yet thou hast been ashamed 
to open thy mouth, and so let them alone to sink or 
swim? O read and tremble: ‘ Whosoever shall be 
ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulter- 
ous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Sen 
of man he ashamed, when he cometh in the 
of his Father, with the holy angels.” 





EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 295 


An idle and impatient spirit hindereth us. It 
is an ungrateful work, and sometimes makes men 
our enemies. Besides, it seldom succeeds at the 
first, except it be followed on. You must be long 
in teaching the ignorant, and persuading the obsti- 
nate. We consider not what patience God used 
towards us when we were in our sins. Woe to us, 
if God had been as impatient with us as we are 
with others. 

Another hinderance is self-seeking. ‘All seek 
their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s,”’ 
and their brethren’s. With many, przde is a great 
impediment. If it were to speak to a great man, 
and it would not displease him, they would do it; 
but to go among the poor, and take pairs with them 
in their cottages, where is the person that will do 
it? Many will rejoice in being instrumental to 
convert a gentleman, and they have good reason, 
but overlook the multitude, as if the souls of all 
were not alike to God. Alas, these men little con- 
sider how low Christ stooped to us!” Few rich and 
noble and wise are called. It is the poor that 
receive the glad tidings of the gospel. And with 
some, their ignorance of the duty hindereth them 
from performing it; either they know it not to be 
a duty, or at least not to be their duty. If this be 
thy case, reader, I am in hope thou art now 
acquainted with thy duty, and wilt enter upon it. 

Do not object to this duty, that you are unable 

Saints’ Rest. 15 


226 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


to manage an exhortation; but either set those at 
the work who are more able, or faithfully and 
humbly use the small ability you have, and tell 
them, as a weak man may do, what God says in 
his word. Decline not the duty because it is your 
superior who needs advice and exhortation. Or- 
der must be dispensed with in cases of necessity 
Though it be a husband, a parent, a minister, you 
must teach him in such a case. If parents are in 
want, children must relieve them. If a husband 
be sick, the wife must fill up his place in family 
affairs. If the rich are reduced to beggary, they 
must receive charity. If the physician be sick, 
somebody must look to him. Thus the’ meanest 
servant must admonish his master, and the child 
his parent, and the wife her husband, and the peo- 
ple their minister ; so that it be done when there is 
real need, and with all possible humility, modesty, 
and meekness. Do not say, this will make us all 
preachers ; for every good Christian is a teacher, 
and has a charge of his neighbor’s soul. Every 
man is a physician, when a regular physician can- 
not be had, and when the hurt is so small that any 
man may relieve it; and in the same cases every 
man must be a teacher, Do not despair of success. 
Cannot God give it? And mustit not be by means? 
Do not plead, it will only be casting pearls before 
swine. When you are in danger to be torn in 
pieces, Christ would have you forbear; but what 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK be Qo 


ee 


is that to you who are in no such danger? As long 
as they will hear, you will have encouragement to 
speak, and may not cast them off as contemptible 
swine. Say not, “It is a friend on whom I much 
depend ; and by telling him his sin and misery, I 
may lose his love, and be undone.” Is his love 
more to be valued than his safety; or thy own 
benefit by him, than the salvation of his soul; or 
wilt thou connive at his damnation because he is 
thy friend? Is that thy best requital of his friend- 
ship? Hadst thou rather he should burn in hell 
for ever, than thou shouldst lose his favor, or the 
maintenance thou hast from him ? 

Thirdly. But that all who fear God may be 
excited to do their utrnost to help others to this 
blessed rest, let me entreat you to consider the fol- 
lowing motives: As, for instance, not only nature, 
but especially grace, disposes the soul to be com- 
rnunicative of good; therefore, to neglect this work 
is a sin both against nature and grace. Would you 
not think him unnatural who would suffer his chil- 
dren or neighbors to starve in the streets, while he 
has provision at hand? And is not he more un- 
natural who will let them eternally perish, and not 
open his mouth to save them? An unmerciful, 
cruel man, is a monster to be abhorred of all. If 
God had bid you give them all your estate, or lay 
down your life to save them, you would surely have 
refused, when you will not bestow a little breath 


228 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


tosave them. Is not the soul of a husband, or wife, 
or child, or neighbor worth a few words? Cruelty 
to men’s bodies is a most damnable sin; but to their 
souls much more, as the soul is of greater worth 
than the body, and eternity than time. Little know 
you what many a soul may now be feeling in hell, 
who died in their sins for want of your faithful 
admonition, 

Consider what Christ did towards the saving of 
souls. He thought them worth his blood; and 
shall we not think them worth our breath? Will 
you not do a little where Christ hath done so much? 
Consider what fit objects of pity ungodly people are. 
They are dead in trespasses and sins, have not hearts 
to feel their miseries, nor to pity themselves. If 
others do not pity them, they will have no pity; 
for it is the nature of their disease to make them 
pitiless to themselves, yea, their own most cruel 
destroyers. Consider, it was once thy own case. 
It was God’s argument to the Israelites to be kind 
to strangers, because they themselves. had been 
‘strangers in the land of Egypt.” So should you 
pity them that are strangers to Christ, and to the 
hopes and comforts of the saints, because you were 
once strangers to them yourselves. Consider your 
relation to them. It is thy neighbor, thy brother, 
whom thou art bound to love as thyself. He that 
loveth not his brother, whom he seeth daily, doth 
not love God whom he never saw. And doth he 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 229 


love his brother that will see him go to hell, and 
never hinder him? . 

Consider what a@ load of guilt this neglect lays 
upon thy own soul. Thou art guilty of the murder 
and damnation of all those souls whom thou dost 
‘thus neglect ; and of every sin they now commit, 
and of all the dishonor done to God thereby ; and 
of all these judgments which their sins bring upon 
the town or country where they live. Consider 
what it will be to look upon your poor friends in 
eternal flames, and to think that your neglect was 
a great cause of it. If you should there perish with 
them, it would be no small aggravation of your 
torment. If you be in heaven, it would surely be 
a sad thought, were it possible that any sorrow 
could dwell there, to hear a multitude of poor souls 
ery out, for ever, ‘“‘O, if you would but have told 
me plainly of my sin and danger, and set it home, 
I might have escaped all this torment, and be now 
in rest!’ What asad voice will this be! Consider 
what a joy it will be in heaven, to meet those there 
whom you have been the means to bring thither ; 
to see their faces, and join with them for ever in 
the praises of God, whom you were the happy in- 
struments of bringing to the knowledge and obedi- 
ence of Jesus Christ. Consider how many souls 
you may have drawn into the way of damnation, 
or hardened in it. We have had, in the days of 
our ignorance, our companions in sin, whom we 


230 . THE SAINTS’ REST. 


enticed or encouraged. And doth it not become us 
to do as much to save men as we have done to 
destroy them? Consider how diligent are all the 
enemies of these poor souls.to draw them to hell. 
The devil is tempting them day and night; their 
inward lusts are still working for their ruin; the 
flesh is still pleading for its delights; their old 
companions are increasing their dislike of holiness. 
And if nobody be diligent in helping them to heav- 
en, what is like to become of them? 

Consider how deep the neglect of this duty will 
wound when conscience ts awakened. When a man 
comes to die, conscience will ask him, ‘“‘ What good 
hast thou done in thy lifetime? The saving of 
souls is the greatest good work; what hast thou 
done towards it? How many hast thou dealt faith- 
fully with?” I have often observed that the con- 
sciences of dying men very much wounded them 
for this omission. For my own part, when I have 
been near death, my conscience hath accused me 
more for this than for any sin ; it would bring every 
ignorant, profane neighbor to my remembrance, to 
whom I never made known their danger; it would 
tell me, ‘‘ Thou shouldst have gone to them in pri- 
vate, and told them plainly of their desperate dan- 
ger, though it had been when thou shouldst have 
eaten or slept, if thou hadst no other time.” Con- 
science would remind me how, at such or such a 
time, | was in company with the ignorant, or riding 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 231 


by the way with a wilful sinner, and had a fit op- 
portunity to have dealt with him, but did not, or 
at least did it to little purpose. The Lord grant I 
may better obey conscience while I have time, that 
it may have less to accuse me of at death. Con- 
sider what a seasonable time you now have for this 
work. There are times in which it is not safe te 
speak ; it may cost you your liberty or your life. 
Besides, your neighbors will shortly die, and so will 
you. Speak to them, therefore, while you may. 
Consider, though this is a work of the greatest 
charity, yet every one of you may perform it; the 
poorest as well as the rich: every one hath a tongue 
to speak to a sinner. 

Once more, consider the happy consequences of 
this. work where it is faithfully done. You may 
be instrumental in saving souls, for whom Christ 
eame down and died, and in whom the angels of 
God rejoice. Such souls will bless you here and 
hereafter; God will have much glory by it; the 
church will be multiplied and edified by it; your 
own soul will enjoy more improvement and vigor 
in the divine life, more peace of conscience, more 
rejoicing in spirit. Of all the personal mercies 
that. I ever received, next to the love of God in 
Christ to my own soul, I must most joyfully bless 
him for the plentiful success of my endeavors upon 
others. O what fruits, then, might I have seen, if 
J had been more faithful! I know we need to be 


232 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


very jealous of our deceitful hearts on this point, 
lest our rejoicing should come from our pride. 
Naturally we would have the praise of every good 
work ascribed to ourselves; yet to imitate our 
Father in goodness and mercy, and to rejoice in 
the degree of them we attain to, is the duty of 
every child of God. I therefore tell you my own 
experience, to persuade you that, if you did but 
know what a joyful thing it is, you would follow 
it, night and day, through the greatest discourage: 
ments. 

Up, then, every man that hath a tongue, and is 
a servant of Christ, and do something of your Mas- 
ter’s work. Why hath he given you a tongue, but 
to speak in his service? And how can you serve 
him more eminently than in laboring for the salva- 
tion of souls? He that will pronounce you blessed 
at the last day, and invite you to “the kingdom 
prepared for you,’ because you “fed him and 
clothed him and visited him,” in his poor mem- 
bers, will surely pronounce you blessed for so great 
a work as bringing souls to his kingdom. He that 
saith, ‘‘the poor you have always with you,” hath 
left the ungodly always with you, that you might 
still have matter to exercise your charity upon. 
If you have the heart of a Christian or of a man, 
let it yearn towards your ignorant, ungodly neigh- 
bors. Say, as the lepers of Samaria, ‘“‘We do not 
well; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 233 


our peace.’ Hath God had so much mercy on you, 
and will you have no mercy on your poor neigh. 
bors? But as this duty belongs to all Christians, 
so especially to some, according as God hath called 
them to it, or qualified them for it ; to them, there- 
fore, I will more particularly address the exhorta- 
tion: 

1. God especially expects this duty at your hands, 
to whom he has given more learning and knowledge, 
and endued with better utterance, than your neigh- 
bors. The strong are made to help the weak, and 
those that see must direct the blind. God looketh 
for this faithful improvement of your powers and 
gifts, which, if you neglect, it were better you had 
never received them; for they will but aggravate 
your condemnation, and be as useless to your own 
salvation as they were to others. 

2. All those who are particularly acquainted 
with some ungodly men, and who have peculiar 
interest in them, God looks for this duty at your 
hands. Christ himself did eat and drink with 
publicans and sinners; but it was only to be their 
physician, and not their companion. Who knows 
but God gave you interest in them to this end, that 
you might be the means of their recovery? They 
that will not regard the words of a stranger, may 
regard ‘a brother, or sister, or husband, or wife, or 
near friend; besides that, the bond of friendship 
engages you to special kindness and compassion. 


234 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


3. Physicians that are much about dying men 
should, in a special manner, make conscience of 
this duty. It is their peculiar advantage that they 
are at hand—that they are with men in sickness 
and danger, when the ear is more open and the 
heart less stubborn than in time of health; and 
that men look upon their physician as a person in 
whose hands is their life, or, at least, who may do 
much to save them; and therefore they will the 
more regard his advice. You that are of this hon- 
orable profession, do not think this a work beside 
your calling, as if it belonged to none but minis- 
ters; except you think it beside your calling to be 
compassionate, or to be Christians. O help, there- 
fore, to fit your patients for heaven; and whether 
you see they are for life or death, teach them both 
how to live and die, and point them to a remedy 
for their souls as you do for their bodies. Blessed 
be God that very many of the chief physicians of 
this age have, by their eminent piety, vindicated 
their profession from the common imputation of 
atheism and profaneness. 

4. Men of wealth and Bate and that. have 
many dependents, have excellent advantages for 
this duty. O what a world of good might gentle- 
men do, if they had but hearts to improve their 
influence over others! Have you not all your honor 
and riches from God? Doth not Christ say, “Unto 
whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 235 


required?” If you speak to your dependents for 
God and their souls, you may be regarded when 
even a minister would be despised. As you value 
the honor of God, your own comfort, and the salva- 
tion of souls, improve your influence over your ten- 
ants and neighbors ; visit their houses ; see whether 
they worship God in their families; and take all 
opportunities to press them to their duty. Despise 
them not. Remember, God is no respecter of per- 
sons. Let men see that you excel others in piety, 
compassion, and diligence in God’s work, as you do 
in the riches and honors of the world. I confess 
you will, by this means, be singular, but then you 
will be singular in glory ; for few of the ‘“ mighty 
and noble are called.” 

5. As for the ministers of the gospel, it is the very 
work of their calling to help others to heaven. Be 
sure to make it the main end of your studies and 
preaching. He is the able, skilful minister, that is 
best skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, 
persuading, and, consequently, of winning souls; 
and that is the best sermon that is best in these. 
When you seek not God, but yourselves, God will 
make you the most contemptible of men. It is true 
of your reputation, as Christ says of your life, ‘““He 
that lovethit, shall lose it.”’ Let the vigor of your 
persuasions show that you are sensible on how 
weighty a business you are sent. Preach with 
seriousness and fervor, as men who believe their 


236 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


vailed with, or be damned. at 
your work is in your studies and pulpits. You are 
shepherds, and must know every sheep, and what 
is their disease, and mark their strayings, and help 
to cure them, and fetch them home. Learn of 
Paul, not only to teach your people “publicly,” but 
‘“‘from house to house.” Inquire how they grow 
in knowledge and holiness, and on what grounds 
they build their hopes of salvation, and whether 
’ they walk uprightly, and perform the duties of their 
several relations. See whether they worship God 
in their families, and teach them how to doit. Be 
familiar with them, that you may maintain your 
interest in them, and improve it all for God. Know 
of them how they profit by public teaching. If any. 
too little ‘savor the things of the Spirit,” let them 
be pitied, but not neglected. Ifany walk disorderly, 





recover them with diligence and patience. Ifthey — 


be ignorant, it may be your fault as much as pies i 
Be not asleep while the wolf is waking. Deal not 
slightly with any. Some will not tell their people 
plainly of their sins, because they are great men ; 
and some, because they are godly; as if none but 
the poor and the wicked should be dealt plainly — 
with. Yet labor to be skilful and discreet, that the 
manner may answer to the excellency of the matter. 
Every reasonable soul hath both judgment and af- 
fection; and every rational, spiritual sermon must 


ee we ee 


_ EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 237 


Laie both. Study and pray, and pray and study, 
till you are become “workmen that need not be 
ashamed, rightly divining the word of truth,” that 
your people may not be ashamed nor weary in 
hearing you. Let your conversation teach men as 
well as your doctrine. Be as forward ina holy and 
heavenly life as you are in pressing others to it. 
Let your discourse be edifying and spiritual. Sutf- 
fer any thing, rather than the gospel and. men’s 
souls should suffer. Let men see that you use not 
the ministry only for a trade to live by, but that 
your hearts are set upon the welfare of souls. 
Whatsoever meekness, humility, condescension, or 
self-denial you teach them from the gospel, teach 
it them also by your undissembled example. Study 
and strive after unity and peace. Ifever you would 
promote the kingdom of Christ and your, people’ s 
salvation, do it in a way of peace and love. It is 
as hard a thing to maintain in your people a sound 
Big tae a tender conscience, a lively, gra 
| s, heavenly frame, of spirit, and an upright life 
amidst contention, a as to keep your candle lighted 





in the greatest storms. . “Blessed is that servant 
whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so 
doing.” 


6. All you whom God has intrusted with the care 
of children and servants, 1 would also persuade to 
this great work of helping others to the heavenly 
rest. Consider what plain and pressing commands 


@ 


238 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of God require this at your hands. ‘“ These words 
thou shalt teach diligently unto thy childremand 
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, 
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou 
lest down, and when thou risest up. Train up a 
child in the way he should go, and when he is old 
he will not depart from it. Bring up your children 
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Joshua 
resolved that ‘he and his house would serve the 
Lord.” And God himself says of Abraham, “I know 
him, that he will command his children and his 
household after him, and they shall keep the way 
of the Lord.” 

Consider, it is a duty you owe your children in 
point of justice. From you they received the de- 
filement and misery of their nature ; and therefore 
you owe them all possible help for their recovery. 
Consider how near your children are to you: they 
are parts of yourselves. If they prosper when you 
are dead, you view it as if you lived and prospered 
in them ; and should you not be of the same mind 
for their everlasting rest ? Otherwise, you will be 
witnesses against your own souls. Your care and 
pains and cost for their bodies will condemn you for 
your neglect of their precious souls. Yea, all the 
brute creation may condemn you. Weg ss of them 
is not tender of its young ? sao a 

Consider, God hath made your itt es your 
charge, and your servants too. Every one will 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 939 


confess they are the minister's charge. And have 
not you a greater charge of your own families than 
any minister can have of them? Doubtless at your 
hands God will require the blood of their souls. It 
is the greatest charge you ever were intrusted with, 
and woe to you, if you suffer them to be ignorant 
or wicked for want of your instruction or correction. 
Consider what work there is for you in their dispo- 
sitions and lives. Theirs is not one sin, but thou- 
sands. They have hereditary diseases bred in their 
nature. The things you must teach them are con- 
trary to the interests and desires of their flesh. 
May the Lord make you sensible what a work and 
charge lie upon you. 

Consider what sorrows you prepare for yourselves 
by the neglect of your children. If they prove 
thorns in your eyes, they are of your own planting. 
If you should repent and be saved, is it nothing to 
think of their damnation; and yourselves the occa- 
sion of it? But if you die in your sins, how will 
they cry out against you in hell, “All this was 
wrong of you; you should have taught us better, 
and did not; you should have restrained us from 
sin and corrected us, but did not.” What an ad- 
dition will such outcries be to your misery. On 
the other hand, think what a comfort you may have 
if you be faithful in this duty. If you should not 
succeed, you have freed your own souls, and may 
have peace in your own consciences. If you suc- 


240 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


ceed, the comfort is inexpressible, in their love and 
obedience, their supplying your wants, and delight- 
ing you in all your remaining path to glory. Yea, 
all your family may fare the better for one pious 
child or servant. But the greatest joy will be 
when you shall say, ‘“‘ Lord, here am I, and the 
children thou hast given me;” and shall joyfully 
live with them for ever. Consider how much the 
welfare of the church and the state depends on this 
duty. Good laws will not reform us, if reformation 
begin not at home. This is the cause of all our 
miseries in the church and the state, even the want 
of a holy education of children. « 

I also entreat parents to consider what excellent 
advantages they have for promoting the salvation 
of their children. They are with you while they 
are tender and flexible; you have a twig to bend, 
not an oak. None in the world have such an inter- 
est in their affections as you have; you have also 
the greatest authority over them. Their whole 
dependence is upon you for a maintenance. You 
best know their temper and inclinations. And you 
are ever with them, and can never want opportu- 
nities; especially you, mothers, remember this, who 
are more with your children, while young, than their 
fathers. What pains do you take for their bodies. 
What do you suffer to bring them into the world. 
And will you not be at.as much pains for the saving 
of their souls? Your affections are tender, and will © 


EXCITING OTHERS TO SEEK IT. 241 


it not move you to think of their perishing for ever?» 
I beseech you, for the sake of the children of your 
own flesh, teach them, admonish them, watch over 
them; and give them no rest till you have brought 
them to Christ. 

» I shall conclude with this-earnest request to all 
Christian parents that read these lines, that they 
would have compassion on the souls of their poor 
children, and be faithful to the great trust that God 
hath put on them. If you cannot do what you 
would for them, yet do what you can. Both the 
church and the state, the city and the country 
groan under the neglect of this weighty duty. 
Your children know not God nor his laws, but 
“take his name in vain,” and slight his worship, 
and you neither instruct them nor correct them; 
and therefore God corrects both them and you. 
You are so tender of them that God is the less ten- 
der of both them and you. Wonder not if God 
makes you smart for your children’s sins; for you 
are guilty of all they commit by your neglect of 
your duty to reform them. Will you resolve there- 
fore to enter upon this duty, and neglect it no longer? 
Remember Eli. Your children are like Moses in 
the bulrushes, ready to perish if they have not help. 
If you would not be charged before God as murder- 
ers of their souls, nor have them cry out against 
you in everlasting fire, see that you teach them how 
_ to escape it, and bring them up in holiness and the 
Saints’ Rest. 16 


242 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


. fear of God. I charge every one of you, upon your 
allegiance to God, as you will very shortly answer 
the contrary at your peril, that you neither refuse 
nor neglect this most necessary duty. If you are 
not willing to do it, now you know it to be so great 
a duty, you are rebels, and no true subjects of Jesus 
Christ. If you are willing, but know not how, I 
will add. a few words of direction to -help you. 
Lead them, by your own example, to prayer, read- 
ing, and other religious duties ; inform their under- 
standings; store their memories; rectify their wills; 
quicken their affections; keep tender their con- 
sciences; restrain their tongues, and teach them 
gracious speech ; reform and watch over their out- 
ward conversation. To these ends, get them Bibles 
and pious books, and see that they read them. 
Examine them often as to what they learn; es- 
pecially spend the Lord’s day in this work; and 
suffer them not to spend it in sports or idleness. 
Show them the meaning of what they read or 
learn. Instruct them out of the holy Scriptures. 
Keep them out of evil company, and acquaint them 
with the godly. Especially show them the neces- 
sity, excellency, and pleasure of serving God, and 
tabor to fix all upon their hearts. 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 243 


CHAPTER X. 


THE SAINTS’ REST IS NOT TO BE EXPECTED ON 
EARTH. 


In: order to show the sin and folly of expecting rest here, 
I. The reasonableness of present afflictions is considered ; 
1. That they are the way to rest; 2. Keep us from mistak- 
ing our rest; 3. From losing our way toit; 4. Quicken our 
pace towards it; 5. Chiefly incommode our flesh; 6. Under 
them the sweetest foretastes of rest are often enjoyed. 
II. How unreasonable to rest in present enjoyments; 
1. That it is idolatry; 2. That it contradicts God’s end in 
giving them; 3. Is the way to have them refused, with- 
drawn, or imbittered; 4. That to be suffered to take up our 
rest here is the greatest curse; 5. That it is seeking rest 
where itis not; 6. That the creatures, without God, would 
aggravate our misery; 7. And all this is confirmed by 
experience. III. The unreasonableness of our unwilling- 
ness to die, and possess the saints’ rest, is largely consid- 
ered. 


We are not yet come to our resting-place. Doth 
it remain? How great then is our sin and folly to 
seek and expect it here. Where shall we find the 
Christian that deserves not this reproof? We 
would all have continual prosperity, because it is 
easy and pleasing to the flesh ; but we consider not 
the unreasonableness of such desires. And when 
we enjoy convenient houses, goods, lands, and reve- 
nues, or the necessary means God hath appointed 


244. THE SAINTS’ REST. 


for our spiritual good, we seek rest in these enjoy- 
ments. Whether we are in an afflicted or prosper- 
ous state, it is apparent we exceedingly make the 
creature our rest. Do we not desire earthly enjoy- 
ments more violently when we want therm, than 
we desire God himself? Do we not delight more 
in the possession of them, than in the enjoyment of 
God? And if we lose them, doth it not trouble us 
more than our loss of God? Is it not enough that 
they are refreshing helps in our way to heaven, but 
they must also be made our heaven itself? Chris- 
tian reader, I would as willingly make thee sensi- 
ble of this sin as of any sin in the world, if I knew 
how to do it; for the Lord’s great controversy with 
us is in this point. In order to this, I most ear- 
nestly beseech thee to consider the reasonableness 
of present afflictions, and the unreasonableness of 
resting in present enjoyments, as also of our unwill- 
ingness to die that we may possess eternal rest. 

First, to show the reasonableness of present afflrc- 
tzons, consider, they are the way to rest; they keep 
us from mistaking our rest, and from losing the way 
to it; they quicken our pace towards it; they 
chiefly incommode our flesh; and under them God’s 
people have often the sweetest foretastes of their 
rest. 

1. Consider, that labor and trouble are the com- 
mon way to rest, both in the course of nature and 
grace. Can there possibly be rest without weari- 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 245 


ness? Do you not travail and toil first, and rest 
afterwards? The day for labor is first, and then 
follows the night for rest. Why should we desire 
the course of grace to be perverted, any more than 
the course of nature? It is an established decree, 
“that we must, though much tribulation, enter into 
the kingdom of God ;” and that, ‘if we suffer, we 
shall also reign with Christ.” And what are we, 
that God’s statutes should be reversed for our 
pleasure ? 

2. Afflictions are rene re useful to us, to keep 
us from mstaking our rest. A Christian’s motion 
towards heaven is voluntary, and not constrained. 
Those means therefore are most profitable which 
help his understanding and will. The most danger- 
ous mistake of our souls is, to take the creature for 
God, and earth for heaven. What warm, affection- 
ate, eager thoughts have we of the world, till afflic- 
tions cool and moderate them. Afflictions speak 
convincingly, and will be heard when preachers 
cannot. Many a poor Christian is sometimes bend- 
ing his thoughts to wealth, or flesh-pleasing, or 
applause, and so loses his relish of Christ and the 
joy above, till God breaks in upon his riches, or 
children, or conscience, or health, and breaks down 
his mountain which he thought so strong. And 
then when he lieth in Manasseh’s fetters, or is 
fastened to his bed with pining sickness, the world 
is nothing, and heaven is something. If our dear 


246 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Lord did not put these thorns under our head, we 
should sleep out our lives and lose our glory. 

3. Afflictions are also God’s most effectual means 
to keep us from loseng our way to our rest. With- 
out this hedge of thorns on the right hand and left, 
we should hardly keep the way to heaven. If there 
be but one gap open, how ready are we to find it, 
and turn out at it. When we grow wanton, or 
worldly, or proud, how much doth sickness or other 
affliction reduce us. Every Christian, as well as 
Luther, may call affliction one of the best school- 
masters ; and, with David, may say, ‘Before I was 
afflicted I went astray ; but now have I kept thy 
word.” Many thousand recovered sinners may cry, 
“OQ healthful sickness! O comfortable sorrows ! 
O gainful losses! O enriching poverty! O blessed 
day that ever I was afflicted!’ Not only the 
‘‘oreen pastures and still waters, but the rod and 
staff, they comfort us.” Though the word and 
Spirit do the main work, yet suffering so unbolts 
the door of the heart, that the word hath easier 
entrance. 

4. Afflictions likewise serve to guzcken our pace 
in the way to our rest. It were well if mere love 
would prevail with us, and that we were rather 
drawn to heaven than driven. But, seeing our 
hearts are so bad that mercy will not do it, i is 
better to be urged onward with the sharpest scourge 
than loiter, like the foolish virgins, till the door is 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 247 


shut. O what a difference is there between our 
prayers in health and in sickness—between our 
repentings in prosperity and adversity. Alas, if we 
did not sometimes feel the spur, what a slow pace 
would most of us hold towards heaven. Since our 
vile natures require it, why should we be unwilling 
that God should do us good bysharpmeans? Judge, 
Christian, whether thou dost not go more watchfully 
and speedily in the way to heaven in thy sufferings 
than in thy more pleasing and prosperous state. 

5. Consider, further, 2 7s but the flesh that is 
chiefly troubled and grieved by afflictions. In most 
of our sufferings the soul is free, unless we ourselves 
wilfully afflict it. ‘“‘ Why then, O my soul, dost thou 
side with this flesh, and complain as it complain- 
eth? It should be thy work to keep it under, and 
bring it into subjection ; and, if God do it for thee, 
shouldst thou be discontented? Hath not the 
pleasing of it been the cause of almost all thy spir- 
itual sorrows? Why, then, may not the displeasing 
of it further thy joy? Must not Paul and Silas 
sing, because their feet are in the stocks. Their 
spirits were not imprisoned. Ah, unworthy soul, 
is this thy thanks to God for preferring thee so far 
before thy body? When it is rotting in the grave 
thou shalt be a companion of the perfected spirits 
of the just. In the meantime, hast thou not conso- 
lation which the flesh knows not of? Murmur not, 
then, at God’s dealings with thy body: if it were 


248 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


for want of love to thee, he would not have dealt so 
by all his saints. Never expect thy flesh should 
truly expound the meaning of the rod. It will 
call love hatred, and say God is destroying when 
he is saving. It is the suffering party, and there- 
fore not fit to be the judge.” Could we once be- 
lieve God, and judge of his dealings by his word, 
and by their usefulness to our souls and reference 
to our rest, and could we stop our ears against all 
the clamors of the flesh, then we should have a 
truer judgment of our afflictions. 

6. Once more, consider, God seldom gives his 
people so sweet a foretaste of their future rest as in 
their deep afflictions. He keeps his most precious 
cordials for the time of our greatest faintings and 
dangers. He gives them when he knows they are 
needed and will be valued, and when he is sure to 
be thanked for them, and that his people will be 
rejoiced by them. Especially when our sufferings 
are more directly for his cause, then he seldom fails 
to sweeten the bitter cup. The martyrs have pos- 
sessed the highest joys. When did Christ preach 
such comfort to his disciples as when “ their hearts 
were sorrowful”’ at his departure? When did he 
appear among them and say, ‘‘ Peace be unto you,”’ 
but when they were shut up for fear of the Jews ? 
When did Stephen see heaven opened, but when he 
was giving up his life for the testimony of Jesus ? 
is not that our best state wherein we have most of 


ar . 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 249 


God? Why else do we desire to come to heaven ? 
If we look for a heaven of fleshly delights, we shall 
find ourselves mistaken. Conclude, then, that af: 
fliction is not so bad a state for a saint in his way 
to rest. Are we wiser than God? Doth he not 
know what is good for us as well as we, or is he 
not as careful of our good as we are of our own? 
Woe to us if he were not much more so, and if he 
did not love us better than we love either him or 
ourselves. 

Say not, ‘I could bear any. other affliction but 
this.” If God had afflicted thee where thou canst 
bear it, thy idol would neither have’ been discovered 
nor removed. Neither say, ‘If God would ere long 
deliver me, I could: be content to bear it.” Is it 
nothing that he hath promised it “shall work for 
thy good?” Is it not enough that thou art sure to 
be delivered at death? Nor let it be said, ‘If my 
affliction did not disable me from my duty, I could 
bear it.” It doth not disable thee for that duty 
which tendeth to thy own personal benefit, but is 
the greatest quickening help thou canst expect. As 
for thy duty to others, it is not thy duty when God 
disables thee. Perhaps thou wilt say, “The godly 
are my afflicters ; if it were ungodly men, I could 
easily bear it.” Whoever is the instrument, the 
affliction is from God, and the deserving cause thy- 
self; and is it not better to look more to God than 
to thyself? Didst thou not know that the best men 


250 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


are still sinful in part? Do not plead, “If I had 
but that consolation which God reserveth for suffer- 
ing times, I should suffer more contentedly ; but I 
do not perceive any such thing.” The more you 
suffer for righteousness’ sake, the more of this bless- 
ing you may expect; and the more you suffer for 
your own evil-doing, the longer it will be before 
that sweetness comes. Are not the comforts you 
desire neglected or resisted? Have your afflictions 
wrought kindly with you, and fitted you for com- 
fort? It is not suffering that prepares you for 
comfort, but the success and fruit of suffering upon 
your heart. 

Secondly, to show the unreasonableness of rest- 
ang in present enjoyments, consider, it is idolizing 
them ; it contradicts God’s end in giving them; it 
is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or 
imbittered ; to be suffered to take up our rest here 
is the greatest curse; it is seeking rest where it is 
not to be found; the creatures, without God, would 
ageravate our misery; and to confirm all this, we 
may consult our own and others’ experience. 

1. It is gross zdolatry to make any creature or 
means ourrest. To be the rest of the soul is God’s 
own prerogative. As it is evident idolatry to place 
our rest in riches or honor, so it is but a more 
refined idolatry to take up our rest in excellent 
means of grace. How must we offend our dear 
Lord when we give him cause to complain, as he 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 251 


did of our fellow-idolaters, ‘‘ My people have been 
lost sheep; they have forgotten their resting-place. 
My people can find rest in any thing rather than in 
me. They can delight in one another, but not in 
me. They can rejoice in my creatures and ordi- 
nances, but not inme. Yea, in their very labors and 
duties they seek for rest, but not in me. They had 
rather be anywhere than be with me. Are these 
their gods? Have these. redeemed them? Will 
these be better to them than I have been, or than 
I would be?” Ifyou yourselves had a wife, a hus- 
band, a son, who had rather be anywhere than in 
your company, and was never so merry as when 
furthest from you, would you not take it ill? So 
our God must needs do. 

2. You contradict the end of God in giving these 
enjoyments. He gave them to help thee to him, 
and dost thou take up with them in his stead? 
He gave them to be refreshments in thy journey, 
and wouldst thou dwell in thy inn and go no fur- 
ther? It may be said of all our comforts and 
ordinances, as is said of the Israelites, ‘‘ The ark of 
the covenant of the Lord went before them, to 
search out a resting-place for them.” So do all 
God’s mercies here. They are not that rest—as 
John professed he was not the Christ—but they 
are ‘‘voices crying in this wilderness,” to bid us 
prepare, ‘for the kingdom of God,” our true rest, 
‘tis at hand.” Therefore, to rest here were to turn 


252 THE SAINTS’ REST. 
A ad 


all mercies contrary to their own ends and to our 
own advantage, and to destroy ourselves with that 
which should help us. 

3. It is the w ; to cause God either to deny the 
mercies we K, or to take from us those we enjoy, 
or at least. Ambitter them to us. God is nowhere 
so jealous as here. If you had a servant whom 
your wife loved better than yourself, would you 
not take it ill of such a wife, and rid your house of 
such a servant? So, if the Lord see you begin to 
settle in the world, and say, ‘‘ Here I will rest,” no 
wonder if he soon, in his jealousy, unsettle you. 
If he love you, no wonder if he take that from you 
with which he sees you are destroying yourself. 
It hath long been my observation of many, that 
when they have attempted great works, and have 
just finished them; or have aimed at great things 
in the world, and have just obtained them } or 
have lived in much trouble, and have just over- 
come it, and begin to look on*their condition with 
content and rest in it, they are then usually near 
to death or ruin. When a man is once at this lan- 
guage, ‘Soul, take thy ease,” the next news usually 
is, “ Thou fool, this night,’’ or this month, or this 
year, ‘thy soul shall be required; and then whose 
shall these things be ?”’ What house is there where 
this fool dwelleth not? Let you and I consider 
whether it be not our own case. Many a servant 
of God has been destroyed from the earth by being 






\ 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 253 


overvalued and overloved. JI am persuaded our 
discontents and murmurings are not so provoking to 
God, nor so destructive to the sinner, as our too 
sweet enjoying and resting in a pleasing state. If 
God hath crossed you in wife, children, goods, 
friends, either by taking them away, or the com- 
fort of them, try whether this be not the cause ; 
for wheresoever your desires stop, and you say, 
“Now I am well,” that condition you make your 
god, and engage the jealousy of God against it. 
Whether you be a friend to God or an enemy, you 
can never expect that God hes 8 ge you quietly 
to enjoy your idols.. 

4. Should God suffer you to take up your rest 
here, it is one of the greatest cwzses that could 
befall you. It were better never to have a day of 
ease in the world; for then weariness might make 
you seek after true rest. But if you are suffered to 
sit down and rest here, a restless wretch you will 
be through all eternity. To “have their portion in 
this life,’ is the lot of the most miserable, perish- 
ing sinners. Does it become Christians then to 
expect so much here? Our rest is our heaven; 
and where we take our rest, there we make our 
heaven. And wouldst ~ have but such a 
heaven as this ? 

5. It is seeking rest where it 2s not to be Sound. 
Your labor will be lost; and if you proceed, your 
soul’s eternal rest too. Our rest is only in the full 


= 


254 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


obtaining of our ultimate end. But that is not to 
be expected in this life ; neither is rest, therefore, 
to be expected here. Is God to be enjoyed in the 
best church here as he is in heaven? How litle 
of God the saints enjoy under the best means, let 
their own complainings testify. Poor comforters 
are the best ordinances without God. Should a 
traveller take up his rest in the way? No; be- 
cause his home is his journey’s end. When you 
have all that creatures and means can afford, have 
you that you believed, prayed, suffered for? I 
think you dare not say so. We are like little chil- 
dren strayed from home, and God is now bringing us 
home, and we are ready to turn into any house, stay 
and play with every thing in our way, and sit down 
on every green bank, and much ado there is to get 
us home. We are also in the midst of our labors 
and dangers; and is there any resting here? What 
painful duties he upon our hands, to our brethren, 
to our own souls, and to God; and what an arduous 
work, in respect to each of these, doth lie before 
us. And can we rest in the midst of all our labors? 
Indeed, we may rest on earth, as the ark is said to 
have ‘‘rested in the midst of Jordan,” a short and 
small rest; or as Abraham desired the ‘“ angels to 
turn in and rest themselves” in his tent, where 
they would have been loath to have taken up their 
dwelling. Should Israel have fixed their rest in 
the wilderness, among serpents and enemies, and 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 255 


weariness and famine? Should Noah have made 
the ark his home, and have been loath to come 
forth when the waters were assuaged? Should the 
mariner choose his dwelling on the sea, and settle 
his rest in the midst of rocks and sands and raging 
tempests? Should a soldier rest in the thickest of 
his enemies? And are not Christians such travel- 
lers, such mariners, such soldiers? Have you not 
fears within and troubles without? Are we not 
in continual dangers? We cannot eat, drink, sleep, 
labor, pray, hear, converse, but in the midst of 
snares; and shall we sit down and rest here? 

O Christian, follow thy work, look to thy dangers, 
hold on to the end, win the field, and come off the 
ground before thou think of a settled rest. When- 
‘ever thou talkest of a rest on earth, it is like Peter 
on the mount, “thou knowest not what thou say- 
est.” If, instead of telling the converted thief, 
“this day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” 
Christ had said he should rest there upon the cross, 
would he not have taken it for derision? Methinks 
it would be ill resting in the midst of sickness and 
pain, persecutions and distresses. But if nothing 
else will convince us, yet sure the remains of sin, 
which so easily besets us, should quickly satisfy a 
believer that here is not his rest. I say, therefore, 
to every one that thinketh of rest on earth, ‘“ Arise 
ye, and depart, for this is not your rest, because it 
is polluted.” These things cannot, in their nature, 


256 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


be a true Christian’s rest. They are too poor to 
make us rich, too low to raise us to happiness, too 
empty to fill our souls, and of too short a continu- 
ance to be our eternal content. If prosperity, and 
whatsoever we here desire, be too base to make 
gods of, they are too base to be our rest. The 
soul’s rest must be sufficient to afford it perpetual 
satisfaction. But the content which creatures 


afford waxes old, and abates after a short enjoy- ' 


ment. If God should rain down angel’s food, we 
should soon loathe the manna. If novelty support 
not, our delights on earth grow dull. All crea- 
tures are to us as flowers to the bee; there is but 
little honey on any one, and therefore there must 
be but a superficial taste, and so to the next. The 
more the world is known, the less it satisfieth. 
Those only are taken with it who see no further 
than its outward beauty, without discerning its 
inward vanity. When we thoroughly know the 
condition of other men, and have discovered the 
evil as well as the good, and the defects as well as 
the perfections, we then cease our admiration. 

6. To have creatures and means without God, is 
an aggravation of our nusery. If God should say, 
“Take my creatures, my word, my servants, my 
ordinances, but not myself,” would you take this for 
happiness? If you had the word of God, and net 
‘‘the Word,” who is God; or the bread of the Lord, 
and not the Lord, who ‘‘is the true bread ;” or could 


ll 


Ne IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 257 


ery with the Jews, ‘‘ The temple of the Lord,” and 
had not the Lord of the temple, this were a poor 
happiness. Was Capernaum the more happy, or 
the more miserable, for seeing the mighty works 
which they had seen, and hearing the words of 
Christ which they did hear? Surely that which 
aggravates our sin and misery cannot be our rest. 
7. To confirm all this, let us consult our own 
and others’ expertence. Millions have made the 
trial; but did any ever find a sufficient rest for his 
soul on earth? Delights I deny not but they have 
found, but rest and satisfaction they never found. 
And shall we think to find that which never man 
could find before us? Ahab’s kingdom is nothing 
to him without Naboth’s vineyard; and did that 
satisfy him when he obtained it? Were you, like 
Noah’s dove, to look through the earth for a resting- 
place, you would return confessing that you could 
find none.. Go ask honor, Is there rest here? You 
may as well rest on the top of tempestuous moun- 
tains, or in Aitna’s flames. Ask riches, Is there 
rest here? Even such as isin a bed of thorns. If 
you inquire for the rest of worldly pleasure, it is 
such as the fish hath in swallowing the bait; when 
the pleasure is sweetest, death is nearest. Go to 
learning, and even to divine ordinances, and inquire 
whether there your soul may rest. You might 
indeed receive from these an olive-branch of hope, 
as they are means to your rest, and have relation to 
Saints’ Rest, 17 


258 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


¥ 


eternity; but, in regard of any satisfaction in them- 
selves, you would remain as restless as ever. How 
well might all these answer us, as Jacob did 
Rachel, ‘Am I in God's stead,” that you come to 
me for soul-rest? Not all the states of men in the 
world; neither court nor country, towns nor cities, 
shops nor fields, treasuries, libraries, solitude, soci- 
ety, studies, nor pulpits can afford any such thing 
as this rest. If you could inquire of the dead of all 
generations, or of the living through all dominions, 
they would all tell you, ‘‘ Here is no rest.” Or, if 
other men’s experience move you not, take a view 
of your own. Can you remember the state that did 
fully satisfy you ; or, if you could, will it prove last- 
ing? I believe we may all say of our earthly rest, 
as Paul of our hope, ‘If it were in this hfe only, 
we are of all men the most miserable.” 

If, then, either scripture or reason, or the expe- 
rience of ourselves and all the world, will convince 
us, we may see there is no resting here. And yet 
how guilty are the generality of us of this sin. 
How many halts and stops do we make before we 
will make the Lord our rest. How must God even 
drive us, and fire us out of every condition, lest we 
should sit down and rest there. If he gives us 
prosperity, riches, or honor, we do in our hearts 
dance before them, as the Israelites before their 
ealf, and say, ‘These are thy gods;” and conclude 
“it is good to be here.” If he imbitter all these to 


e 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 259 


us, how restless are we till our condition be sweet- 
ened, that we may sit down again and rest where 
we were. If he proceed in the cure, and take the 
creature quite away, then we labor and ery and 
pray that God would restore it, that we may make 
it our rest again. And while we are deprived of 
our former idol, yet, rather than come to God, we 
delight ourselves in the hope of recovering it, and 
make that very hope our rest, or search about from 
creature to creature to find out something to sup- 
ply the room; yea, if we can find no supply, yet 
we will rather settle in this misery, and make a 
rest of a wretched being, than leave all and come 
to God. © 

O the cursed aversion of our souls from God. If 
any place in hell were tolerable, the soul would 
rather take up its rest there than come to God. 
Yea, when he is bringing us over to him, and hath 
convinced us of the worth of his ways and service, 
the last deceit of all is here ; we will rather settle 
upon those ways that lead to him, and those ordi- 
nances that speak of him, and those gifts which 
flow from him, than come entirely over to himself. 
Christian, marvel not that I speak so much of rest- 
ing in these ; beware, lest it prove thy own case. 
I suppose thou art so far convinced of the vanity 
of riches, honor, and pleasure, that thou canst more 
easily disclaim these; and it is well if it be so; but 
the means of grace thou lookest on with less sus- 


260 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


picion, and thinkest thou canst not delight in them 
too much, especially seeing most of the world despise 
them, or delight in them too little. I know they 
must be loved and valued ; and he.that delighteth 
in any worldly thing more than in them, is not a 
Christian. But when we are content with ordi- 
nances without God, and had rather be at public 
worship than in heaven, and a member of the 
church here than of the perfect church above, this 
is asad mistake. So far let thy soul take comfort 
in ordinances as God doth accompany them; re- 
membering, this is not heaven, but the first-fruits, 
“While we are present in the body, we are absent 
from the Lerd;’” and while we are absent from 
him, we are absent from our rest. If God were as 
willing to be absent from us as we from him, and 
as loath to be our rest as we to rest in him, we 
should be left to an eternal restless separation. In 
a word, as you are sensible of the sinfulness of 
your earthly discontents, so be you also of your 
irregular satisfaction, and pray God to pardon them 
much more. And, above all the plagues on this 
side hell, see that you watch and pray against set- 
tling anywhzre short of heaven, or reposing your 
soul on any thing below God. 

Thirdly, the next thing to be considered is our 
unreasonable unwillingness to die, that we may pos- 
sess the saints’ rest. We linger, like Lot in Sodom, 
till ‘the Lord being merciful unto us,’ doth pluck 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 261 


us away against our will. I confess that death, of 
itself, is not desirable; but the soul’s rest with God 
is, to which death is the common passage. Because 
we are apt to make light of this sin, let me set be- 
fore you its nature and remedy, in a variety of con- 
siderations. 

It has in it much zfidelity. If we did verily 
believe that the promise of this glory is the word 
of God, and that God truly means as he speaks, and 
is fully resolved to-make it good; if we did verily 
believe that there is indeed such blessedness pre- 
pared for believers, surely we should be as impatient 
of living as we are now fearful of dying, and should 
think every day a year till our last day should come. 
Is it possible that we can truly believe that death 
will remove us from misery to such glory, and yet 
be loath to die? If the doubts of our own interest 
in that glory make us fear, yet a true belief of the 
certainty and excellency of this rest would make us 
restless till our title to it be cleared. Though there 
is much faith and Christianity in our mouths, yet 
there is much infidelity and paganism in our hearts, 
which is the chief cause that we are so loath to die. 

It is also much owing to the coldness of our love. 
If we love our friend, we love his company ; his 
presence is comfortable, his absence is painful : 
when he comes to us, we entertain him with glad- 
ness; when he dies, we mourn, and usually over- 
mourn. To be separated from a faithful friend is 


262 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


like the rending of a member from our body. And 
would not our desires after God be such, if we really 
loved him? Nay, should it not be much more than 
such, as he is, above all friends, most lovely? May 
the Lord teach us to look closely to cur hearts, and 
take heed of self-deceit in this pomt. Whatever we 
pretend, if we love either father, mother, husband, 
wife, child, friend, wealth, or life itself, more than 
Christ, we are yet ‘none of his” sincere ‘‘ disciples.” 
When it comes to the trial, the question will not be, 
who hath preached most, or heard most, or talked 
most; but, who hath loved most. Christ will not 
take sermons, prayers, fastings, no, nor the “ giv- 
ing our goods,” nor the ‘‘ burning our bodies,” in- 
stead of love. And do we love him, and yet care 
not how long we are from him? Was it such a joy 
to Jacob to see the face of Joseph in Egypt; and 
shall we be contented without the sight of Christ 
in glory, and yet say we love him? I dare not 
conclude that we have no love at all, when we are 
so loath to die; but I dare say, were our love more, 
we should die more willingly. If this holy flame 
were thoroughly kindled in our breasts, we should 
ery out with David, ‘‘As the hart panteth after the 
water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God ; when 
shall I come and appear before God ?” - 
By our unwillingness to die,,1t appears we are 
little weary of sin. Did we feel sin to be the great- 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 263 


est evil, we should not be willing to have its com- 
pany so long. ‘“O foolish, sinful heart, hast thou 
been so long a cage of all unclean lusts, a fountain 
incessantly pouring forth the bitter waters of trans- 
gression, and art thou not yet weary? Wretched 
soul, hast thou been so long wounded in all thy 
faculties, so grievously languishing in all thy per- 
formances, so fruitful a soil of all iniquities, and 
art thou not yet more weary? Wouldst thou still 
lie under thy imperfections? Hath thy sin proved 
so profitable a commodity, so necessary a compan- 
ion, such a delightful employment, that thou dost 
so much dread the parting day? May not God 
justly grant thee thy wishes, and seal thee a lease 
of thy desired distance from him, and nail thy ears 
to these doors of misery, and exclude thee eternally 
from his glory?” — 

It shows that we are znsensible of the vanity of 
earth, when we are so loath to hear or think of a 
removal. ‘Ah, foolish, wretched soul, doth every 
prisoner groan for freedom, and every slave desire 
his jubilee, and every sick man long for health, and 
every hungry man for food, and dost thou alone 
abhor deliverance? Doth the sailor wish to see 
land? Doth the husbandman desire the harvest, 
and the laborer to receive his pay? Doth the 
traveller long to be at home, and the racer to win 
the prize, and the soldier to win the field ; and art 
thon, loath to see thy labors finished, and to receive 


264 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the end of thy faith and sufferings? Have thy 
griefs been only dreams? If they were, yet me- 
thinks thou shouldst not be afraid of waking. Or 
is it not rather the world’s delights that are all 
mere dreams and shadows? Or is the world be- 
come of late more kind? We may at our peril 
reconcile ourselves to the world, but it will never 
reconcile itself to us. O unworthy soul, who hadst 
rather dwell in this land of darkness, and wander 
in this barren wilderness, than be at rest with 
Jesus Christ; who hadst rather stay among the 
wolves, and daily suffer the scorpion’s stings, than 
praise the Lord with the host of heaven.” — 

This unwillingness to die doth actually impeach 
us of high treason against the Lord. Is it not 
choosing earth before him, and taking present 
things for our happiness, and consequently making 
them our very god? If we did indeed make God 
our end, our rest, our portion, our treasure, how is 
it possible but we should desire to enjoy him? It 
moreover discovers some dissimulation. Would 
you have any man believe you when you call the 
Lord your only hope, and speak of Christ as all in 
all, and of the joy that is in his presence, and yet 
would endure the hardest life, rather than die and 
enter into his presence? What self-contradiction 
is this, to talk so hardly of the world and the flesh, 
to groan and complain of sin and suffering, and yet 
fear no day more than that we expect should bring 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 265 


our final freedom. What hypocrisy is this to pro- 
fess to strive and fight for heaven, which we are 
loath to come to; and spend one hour after another 
in prayer for that which we would not have. 
Hereby we wrong the Lord and his promises, and 
disgrace his ways in the eyes of the world; as if 
we would persuade them to question whether God 
be true to his word or not—whether there be any 
such glory as the Scripture mentions. When they 
see those so loath to leave their hold of present 
things, who have professed to live by faith, and 
have boasted of their hopes in another world, and 
spoken disgracefully of all things below, in com- 
parison with things above, how doth this confirm the 
world in their unbelief and sensuality. ‘‘ Surely,” 
say they, “if these professors did expect so much 
glory, and make so light of the world as they 
seem, they would not themselves be so loath to 
change.” O, how are we ever able to repair the 
wrong which we do to God and souls by this scan- 
dal? And what an honor to God, what a strength- 
ening to believers, what a conviction to unbelievers 
would it be, if Christians in this did answer their 
profession, and cheerfully welcome the news of 
rest. | 
It also evidently shows that we have spent much 
time to little purpose. Have we not had all our 
lifetime to prepare to die; so many years to make 
ready for one hour; and are we so unready and 


Ss 


266 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


unwilling yet? What have wedone? Why have 
we lived? Had we any greater matters to mind ? 
Would we have wished for more frequent warnings ? 
How oft hath death entered the habitations of our 
neighbors. How often hath it knocked at our own 
door. How many diseases have vexed our bodies, 
that we have been forced to receive the sentence 
of death. And are we unready and unwilling after 
all this? O careless, dead-hearted sinners ; unworthy 
neelecters of God’s warnings; faithless betrayers of 
our own souls! 

Consider, not to die is never to be happy. To 
escape death is to miss of blessedness, except God 
should translate us, as Enoch and Elijah, which he 
never did before or since. ‘If in this life only we 
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miser- 
able.” Ifyou would not die and go to heaven, what 
would you have more than an epicure or a beast? 
Why do we pray and fast and mourn; why do we 
sufler the contempt of the world; why are we 
Christians, and not pagans and infidels, if we do 
not desire a life to come? Wouldst thou lose thy 
faith and labor, Christian—all thy duties and suf- 
ferings, all the end of thy life, and all the blood of 
Christ, and be contented with the portion of a world- 
ling or a brute? Rather say, as one did on his 
death-bed, when he was asked whether he was 
willing to die or not, ‘‘ Let him be loath to die, who 
is loath to be with Christ.’ Is God willing by death 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 267 


so glorify us, and are we unwilling to die, that we 
may be glorified? Methinks, if a prince were willing 
to make you his heir, you would scarce be unwilling 
to accept it; the refusing such a kindness would dis- 
cover ingratitude and unworthiness. As God hath 
resolved against them who make excuses when they 
should come to Christ, ‘‘ None of those men who were 
bidden shall taste of my supper;” so it is just with 
him to resolve against us, who frame excuses when 
we should come to glory. 

The Lord Jesus Christ was willing to come from 
heaven to earth for us, and shall we be unwilling to 
remove from earth to heaven for ourselves and him? 
He might have said, ‘‘ What is it to me if these sinners 
suffer? Ifthey value their flesh above their spirits, 
and their lusts above my Father’s love; if they will 
sell their souls for naught, who is it fit should be 
the loser? Should I, whom they have wronged ? 
Must they wilfully transgress my law, and I under- 
go their deserved pain? Must I come down from 
heaven to earth, and clothe myself with human 
flesh, be spit upon and scorned by man, and fast, 
and weep, and sweat, and suffer, and bleed, and 
die acursed death ; and all this for wretched worms 
who would rather hazard their souls than forbear 
one forbidden morsel? Do they cast away them- 
selves so slightly, and must I redeem them so dear- 
ly?” Thus we see Christ had reason enough to 
have made him unwilling; and yet did he volun- 


268 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


tarily condescend. But we have no reason against 
our coming to him, except we will reason against 
our hopes, and plead for a perpetuity of our own 
calamities. Christ came down to raise us up; and 
would we have him lose his blood and labor and go 
again without us? Hath he bought our rest at so 
dear a rate? ‘Is our inheritance ‘purchased with 
his blood?” And are we, after all this, loath to 
enter? Ah, sirs, it was Christ, and not we, that 
had cause to be loath. . May the Lord forgive and 
heal this foolish ingratitude. 

Do we not combine with our most cruel foes in 
their most malicious designs, while we are loath to 
die and go to heaven? What is the devil’s daily 
business? Is it not to keep our souls from God ? 
And shall we be content with this? Is it not the 
one half of hell which we wish to ourselves, while 
we desire to be absent from heaven? What sport 
is this to Satan, that his desires and thine, Christian, 
should so concur ; that, when he sees he cannot get 
thee to hell, he can so long keep thee out of heaven, 
and make thee the earnest petitioner for it thyself. 
O gratify not the devil so much to thy own injury. 
Do not our daily fears of death make our lives a con- 
tinual torment? Those lives, which might be full 
of joy in the daily contemplation of the life to come, 
and the sweet, delightful thoughts of bliss, how-do 
we fill them up with causeless terrors. Thus we 
consume our own comforts, and prey upon our truest 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 269 


pleasures. When we might lie down, and rise up, 
and walk abroad with our hearts full of the joys 
of God, we continually fill them with perplexing 
fears; for he that fears dying must be always 
fearing, because he hath always reason to expect 
it. -And how can that man’s life be comfortable 
who-lives in continual fear of losing his comforts? 
Are not these fears of death self-created sufferings, 
as if God had not inflicted enough upon us, but we 
must inflict more upon ourselves? Is not death 
bitter enough to the flesh of itself, but we must 
double and treble its bitterness? The sufferings 
laid upon us by God do all lead to happy issues ; 
the progress is from tribulation to patience, from 
thence to experience, and so to hope, and at last to 
glory. But the sufferings we make for ourselves 
are circular and endless, from sin to suffering, from 
suffering to sin, and so to suffering again; and not 
only so, but they multiply in their course ; every 
sim is greater than the former, and so every suffer- 
ing also: so that, except we think God hath made 
us to be our own tormentors, we have small reason 
to nourish our fears of death. 

And are they not useless, unprofitable fears? As 
all our care ‘‘cannot make one hair white or black, 
nor add one cubit to our stature,” so neither can 
our fear prevent our sufferings, nor delay our death 
one hour: willing or unwilling, we must away. 
Many a man’s fears have hastened his end, but no 


270 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


man’s did ever avert it. It is true, a cautious fear 
concerning the danger after death hath profited 
many, and is very useful to the preventing of that 
danger ; but for a member of Christ and an heir of 
heaven to be afraid of entering his own inheritance, 
is a sinful, useless fear. And do not our fears of 
dying ensnare our souls, and add strength to many 
temptations? What made Peter deny his Lord? 
What makes apostates in suffering times forsake 
the truth? Why does the green blade of unrooted 
faith wither before the heat of persecution? Fear 
of imprisonment and poverty may do much, but 
fear of death will do much more. So much fear as 
we have of death, so much cowardice we usually 
have in the cause of God; besides the multitude 
of unbelieving contrivances, and discontents at the 
wise disposal of God; and hard thoughts of most 
of his providences, of which this sin makes us 
guilty. 

Let us further consider what szffictent time most 
of us have had. Why should not a. man, that 
would die at all, be as willing at thirty or forty, if 
God see fit, as at seventy or eighty? Leneth of 
time does not conquer corruption ; it never withers 
nor decays through age. Except we receive an 
addition of grace as well as time, we naturally 
grow worse. ‘“O my soul, depart in peace. As 
thou wouldst not desire an unlimited state in wealth 
and honor, so desire it not in point of time. If thou 


IT'ts NOT ON EARTH. pe 


wast sensible how little thou deservest an hour of 
that patience which thou hast enjoyed, thou wouldst 
think thou hadst had a large part. Is it not divine 
wisdom that sets the bounds? God will honor him- 
self by various persons and ages, and not by one 
person or age. Seeing thou hast acted thy own 
part, and finished thy appointed course, come down 
contentedly, that others may succeed, who must 
have their turns as well as thyself. Much time 
hath much duty; beg therefore for ‘grace to im- 
prove it better; but be content with thy share of 
time. 

“Thou hast also had a competency of the com- 
forts of life. God might have made thy life a bur- 
den, till thou hadst been as weary of possessing it 
as thou art now afraid of losing it. He might have 
suffered thee to have consumed thy days in igno- 
rance, without the true knowledge of Christ; but 
he hath opened thy eyes in the morning of thy days, 
and acquainted thee betimes with the business of 
thy life. Hath thy heavenly Father caused thy lot 
to fall in Europe, not in Asia or Africa; in Eng- 
land, not in Spain or Italy? Hath he filled up all 
thy life with mercies, and dost thou now think thy 
share too small? What a multitude of hours of 
consolation, of delightful Sabbaths, of pleasant 
studies, of precious companions, of wonderful de- 
liverances, of excellent opportunities, of fruitful 
labors, of joyful tidings, of sweet experiences, of 


273 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


astonishing providences, hath thy life partaken of. 
Hath thy life been so sweet that thou art loath to 
leave it? Is this thy thanks to Him who is thus 
drawing thee to his own sweetness? O foolish 
soul, would thou wast as covetous after eternity as 
thou art for a fading, perishing life; and after the 
presence of God in glory as thou art for continu- 
ance on earth, Then thou wouldst cry, ‘Why is 
his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the 
wheels of his chariot?’ How long, Lord, how 
long? What if God should let thee live many 
years, but deny thee the mercies which thou hast 
hitherto enjoyed? . Might he not give thee life, as 
he gave the murmuring Israelites quails? He 
might give thee life till thou art weary of living, 
and as glad to be rid of it as Judas or Ahithophel ; 
and make thee like many miserable creatures in the 
world, who can hardly forbear laying violent hands 
on themselves. Be not therefore so importunate for 
life, which may prove a judgment instead of a bless- 
ing. How many of the precious servants of God, 
of all ages and places, have gone before thee. 
Thou art not to enter an untrodden path, nor 
appointed first to break the ice. Except Enoch 
and Elijah, which of the saints have escaped 
death? And art thou better than they? There 
are many millions of saints dead, more than now 
remain on earth. What a number of thine own 
bosom friends and companions in duty are now 


IT IS NOT ON EARTH. 273 


gone ; and why shouldst thou be so loath to follow? 
Nay, hath not Jesus Christ himself. gone this way? 
Hath he not sanctified the grave to us, and per- 
fumed the dust with his own body; and art thou 
loath to follow him too? Rather say as Thomas, 
‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’”’ 

If what has been said will not persuade, serip- 
ture and reason have little foree. And I have said 
the more on this subject, finding it so needful to 
myself and others—finding, among so many Chris- 
tians who could do and suffer much for Christ, so 
few that can willingly die; and of many who 
have somewhat subdued other corruptions, so few 
that have gotten the conquest of this. I persuade 
not the ungodly from fearing death ; it is a wonder 
that they fear it no more, and spend not their days 
in continual horror. 


Saints’ Rest. ] 8 


274 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


CHAPTER, XI, 


THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADING A HEAVENLY 
LIFE UPON EARTH. 


The reasonableness of delighting in the thoughts of the saints’ 
rest. Christians exhorted to it, by considering, 1. It will 
evidence their sincere piety; 2. It is the highest excellence 
of the Christian temper; 3. It leads to the most comforta- 
ble life; 4. It will be the best preservative from tempta- 
tions to sin; 5. It will invigorate their graces and duties ; 
6. It will be their best cordial inafflictions ;_ 7. It will ren- 
der them most profitable to others; 8. It will honor God; 
9. Without it we disobey the commands, and lose the most 
gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of God; 
10. It is the more reasonable to have our hearts with God, 
as his is much on us; and, 11. In heaven, where we have 
so much interest and relation; 12. Besides, there is nothing 
but heaven worth setting our hearts upon. 


Is there such a rest remaining for us? Why then 
are not our thoughts more upon it? Why are not 
our hearts continually there? Why dwell we not 
there in constant contemplation? What is the 
cause of this neglect? Are we reasonable in this, 
or are we not? Hath the eternal God provided us 
such a glory, and promised to take us up to dwell 
with himself; and is not this worth thinking on? 
Should not the strongest desires of our hearts be 
after it? Do we believe this, and yet forget and 
neglect it? If God will not give us leave to 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 275 


approach this light, what mean all his earnest 
invitations? -Why doth he so condemn our earthly- 
mindedness, and command us to set our affections 
on things above? Ah, vile hearts!) Were God 
against it, we were likelier to be for it; but when 
he commands our hearts to heaven, then they will 
not stir one inch: lke our predecessors the sinful 
Israelites, when God would have them march for 
Canaan, then they mutiny, and will not stir; but 
when God bids them not go, then will they be 
_ presently marching. If God say, “Love not the 
world, nor the things of the world,’ we dote upon 
it. How freely, how frequently can we think of 
our pleasures, our friends, our labors, our flesh and 
its lusts, yea, our wrongs and miseries, our fears 
and sufferings. But where is the Christian whose 
heart is on his rest? What is the matter? Are 
we so full of joy that we need no more? Or is 
there nothing in heaven for our joyous thoughts ? 
Or rather, are not our hearts carnal and stupid? 
Let us humble these sensual hearts, that have in 
them no more of Christ and glory. If this world 
was the only subject of our discourse, all would 
call us ungodly; why then may we not call our 
hearts ungodly, that have so little delight in Christ 
and heaven ? 

But lam speaking only to those whose portion is 
in heaven, whose hopes are there, and who have 
forsaken all to enjoy this glory; and shall I be dis- 


~ 


276 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


couraged from persuading such to be heavenly- 
minded? Fellow-Christians, if you will not hear 
and obey, who will? . Well may we be discouraged 
to exhort the blind ungodly world, and may say, as 
Moses did, ‘‘ Behold, the children of Israel have not 
hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear 
me?” I require thee, reader, as ever thou hopest 
for a part in this glory, that thou presently take thy 
heart to task, chide it for its wilful strangeness to 
God, turn thy thoughts from the pursuit of vanity, 
bend thy soul to study eternity, busy it about the 
life to come, habituate thyself to such contempla- 
tions, and let not. those thoughts be seldom and 
cursory, but bathe thy soul in heaven’s delights ; 
and if thy backward soul begin to flag and thy 
thoughts to scatter, call them back, hold them to 
their work, bear not with their laziness, nor con- 
nive at one neglect. And when then hast, in obe- 
dience to God, tried this work, got acquainted with 
it, and kept a guard on thy thoughts till they are 
accustomed to obey, thou wilt then find thyself in 
the suburbs of heaven, and that there is indeed a 
sweetness in the work and way of God, and that 
the life of Christianity is a life of joy. Thou wilt 
meet with those abundant consolations which thou 
hast prayed, panted, and groaned after, and which 
so few Christians do ever here ebtain, because they 
know not this way to them, or else make not con- 
science of walking in it. 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 277 


Say not, «We are unable to set our own hearts 
on heaven; this must be the work of God only.” 
Though God be the chief disposer of your hearts, 


_., yet, next under him, you have the greatest command 
“of them yourselves. Though without Christ you 


can do nothing, yet under him you may do much; 


and must, or else it will be undone, and yourselves 
-< ‘undone through your neglect. Christians, if your 


souls were healthful and vigorous, they would per- | 


ceive incomparably more delight and sweetness in 


Le] 


i 


ae a” ie 


the beheving, joyful thoughts of your future bless- 


. edness, than the soundest stomach finds in its food, 


or the strongest senses in the lenjoyment of their 
objects, so little painful would this work be to you. 
But because I know, while we have flesh about us 


“and any remains of that “carnal mind which is 
enmity against God” and this noble work, that all 


motives are little enough, I will here lay down 
some considerations, which, if you will deliberately 
weigh with an impartial judgment,'I deubt not will 
prove effectual with your hearts, and make you 
resolve on this excellent duty. More particularly 
consider, it will evidence your sincere piety; it is 
the highest excellence of the Christian temper ; it 


“is the way to live most comfortably ; it will be the 


best preservative from temptations to sin; it will 


senliven your graces and duties; it will be your best 


cordial in all afflictions; it will render you most 
profitable to others; it will honor God; without it 


278 THE SAINT'S’ REST. 


you will disobey the commands and lose the most 
gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of 
God: it is also the more reasonable to have your 
hearts with God, as his is so much on you, and in 
heaven, where you have so much interest and rela- 
tion; besides, there is nothing but heaven worth 
setting your hearts upon. 

1. Consider, that a heart set upon heaven will be 
one of the most unquestionable evidences of your 
sincerity, and a clear discovery of a true work of 
saving grace upon your souls. You are often ask- 
ing, ‘‘ How shall we know that we are truly sancti- 
fied?” Here you have a sign infallible from’ the 
mouth of Jesus Christ himself: ‘Where your treas- 
ure is, there will your hearts be also.” God is the 
saints’ treasure and happiness; heaven is the place 
where they must fully enjoy him.. A heart there- 
fore set upon heaven, is a heart set upon God; and 
surely a heart set upon God, through Christ, is the 
truest evidence of saving grace. When learning will 
be no proof of grace ; when knowledge, duties; gifts 
will fail; when arguments from thy tongue or hand 
may be confuted, yet then will this, from the bent 
of thy heart, prove thee sincere. Take a poor 
Christian, of a weak understanding, a feeble mem- 
ory, astammering tongue; yet his heart is set on 
God, he hath chosen him for his portion, his 
thoughts are on eternity, his desires are there; he 
cries out, “O that I were there!’ He takes that 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 279 


day for a time of imprisonment, in which he hath 
not had one refreshing view of eternity. I had 
rather die in this man’s condition, than in the case 
of him who hath the most eminent gifts, and is 
most admired for his performances, while his heart 
is not thus taken up with God.. The man that 
Christ will find out at the last day, and condemn 
for want of a ‘‘ wedding garment,” will be one that 
wants this frame of heart. The question will not 
then be, How much have you known, or professed, 
or talked; but, How much have you loved, and 
where was. your. heart? Christians, as you would 
have -a proof of your title to glory, labor to get 
your hearts above. Ifsin and Satan keep not your 
affections from thence, they will never be able to 
keep away your persons. 

2. A heart in heaven is the highest excellence of 
Christian temper. As there is a common excel- 
lence by which Christians differ from the world, so 
there is this peculiar dignity of spirit by which the 
more excellent differ from the rest. As the noblest 
of creatures, so the noblest of Christians are they 
whose faces are set most direct for heaven. Such 
a heavenly saint, who hath been rapt up to God 
in his contemplations, and is newly come down from 
the views of Christ, what discoveries will he make 
of those superior regions; how high and sacred is 
his discourse: enough to convince an understand- 
ing hearer that he hath seen the Lord, and that no 


280 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


man could speak such words, except he had been 
with God. This, this is the noble Christian. The 
most famous mountains and trees are those that 
reach nearest to heaven, and he is the. choicest 
Christian whose heart is most frequently and most 
delightfully there. If aman have lived near the 
king, or hath seen the sultan of Persia or the grand 
Turk, he will be thought a step higher than his 
neighbors. What then shall we judge of him that 
daily travels as far as heaven, and there hath seen 
the King of kings, hath frequent admittance into 
the divine presence, and feasteth «his soul upon the 
tree of life? For my part, I value this man before 
the noblest, the richest, the most learned in. the 
world. 

3. A heavenly mind is the nearest.and truest way 
to a life of comfort. The countries far north are 
cold and frozen, because they are distant from the 
sun. What makes such frozen, uncomfortable 
Christians, but their living so far from heaven? 
And what makes others so warm in comforts, but 
their living higher, and having nearer access to 
God? When the sun in the spring draws nearer to 
our part of the earth, how do all things congratu- 
late its approach. The earth looks green, the trees 
shoot forth, the plants revive, the birds sing, and all 
things smile upon us. If we would but try this life, 
with God, and keep these hearts above, what a 
spring of joy would be within us; how should we 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 281 


forget our winter sorrows; how early should we 
rise to sing the praise of our great Creator. O 
Christian, get above. Those that have been there 
have found it warmer; and I doubt not but thou 
hast sometimes tried it thyself. When hast thou 
largest comforts? Is it not when thou hast con- 
versed with God, and talked with the inhabitants 
of the higher world, and viewed their mansions, and 
filled thy soul with the forethoughts of glory? If 
thou knowest by experience what this practice is, I 
dare say thou knowest what spiritual joy is. If, as 
_ David professes, ‘the light of God’s countenance 
more gladdens the heart than corn and wine,” then 
surely they that draw nearest, and most behold it, 
must be fullest of these joys. Whom should we 
blame, then, that we are so void of consolation, but 
our own negligent hearts? God hath provided us 
a crown of glory, and promised to set it shortly on 
our heads, and we will not so much as think of it. 
He bids us behold and rejoice, and we will not so 
much as look at it; and yet we complain for want 
of comfort. It is by believing that we are ‘filled 
with joy and peace,” and no longer than we con- 
tinue believing. It is in hope the saints rejoice, and 
no longer than they continue hoping. God’s Spirit 
worketh our comforts by setting our own spirits at 
work upon the promises, and raising our thoughts 
to the place of our comforts. As you would delight 
a covetous man by showing him gold, so God de- 


Ra. se 
282 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


lights his people by leading them, as it were, into 
heaven, and showing them himself and their rest 
with him. He does not kindle our joys while we 
are idle, or taken up with other things. He gives 
the fruits of the earth while we plough and sow 
and weed and water and dress, and with patience 
expect his blessing ; so doth he give the joys of the 
soul. I entreat thee, reader, in the name of the 
Lord, and as thou valuest the life of constant joy, 
and that good conscience which is a continual feast, 
to enter upon this work seriously, and learn the art 
of heavenly-mindedness, and thou shalt find the 
increase a hundred-fold, and the benefit abundantly 
exceed thy labor. But this is the misery of man’s 
nature: though every man naturally hates sorrow 
and loves the most merry and joyful life, yet few 
love the way to joy, or will endure the pains by 
which it is obtained ; they will take the first that 
comes to hand, and content themselves with earthly 
pleasures, rather than ascend to heaven to seek it ; 
and yet, when all is done, they must have it there, 
or be without it. 

4. A heart in heaven will be a most excellent 
preservative against temptations to sin. It will 
keep the heart well employed. When we are idle, 
we tempt the devil to tempt us; as careless per- 
sons make thieves. A heart in heaven can replyto 
the tempter, as Nehemiah did, “I am doing a great 
work, so that I cannot come.” It hath no leisure 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 283 


to be lustful or wanton, ambitious or worldly. If 
you were but busy in your lawful callings, you 
would not be so ready to hearken to temptations ; 
much less, if you were also busy above with God. 
Would a judge be persuaded to rise from the bench, 
when he is sitting upon a case of life and death, to 
go and play with children in the streets? No more 
will a Christian, when he is taking a survey of his 
eternal rest, give ear to the allurme charms of 
Satan. The children of that kingdom should never 
have time for trifles, especially when they are 
employed in the affairs of the kingdom; and this 
employment is one of the saints’ chief preservatives 
from temptations. 

A heavenly mind is the freest from sin, because 
it has truer and livelier apprehensions of spiritual 
things. He hath so deep an insight into the evil of 
sin, the vanity of the creature, the brutishness of 
fleshly, sensual delights, that temptations have little 
power over him. “In vain the net is spread,” Says 
Solomon, ‘in the sight of any bird ;” and usually 
in vain doth Satan lay his snares to entrap the soul 
that plainly sees them. Earth is the place for his 
temptations, and the ordinary bait ; and how shall 
these ensnare the Christian who hath left the earth 
and walks with God? Is converse with wise and 
learned men the way to make one wise? Much 
more is converse with God. If travellers return 
home with wisdom and experience, how much more 


284 THE SAINTS? REST. 


he that travéls to heaven. If our bodies are suited 
to the air and climate we most live in, his under- 
standing must be fuller of light who lives with the 
Father of lights. The men of the world that dwell 
below, and know no other conversation but earthly, 
no wonder if their ‘understanding be darkened,” 
and Satan ‘“‘take them captive at his will.” How 
can worms and moles see, whose dwelling is always 
in the earth? While this dust is in their eyes, no 
wonder they mistake gain for godliness, sin for 
grace, the world for God, their own wills for the 
law of Christ, and, in the issue, hell for heaven. 
But when a Christian withdraws himself from his 
worldly thoughts, and begins to converse with God 
in heaven, methinks he is, as Nebuchadnezzar, taken 
from the beasts of the field to the throne, and “his 
reason returneth unto him.” When he has hada 
glimpse of eternity, and looks down on the world 
again, how doth he charge with folly his neglects of 
Christ, his fleshly pleasures, his earthly cares. How 
doth he say of his laughter, It is mad; and of his 
vain mirth, What doeth it? How doth he verily 
think there is no man in Bedlam so truly mad as 
wilful sinners, and unworthy slighters of Christ and 
glory. This makes a dying man usually wiser than 
others, because he looks on eternity as near, and 
hath more heart-piercing thoughts of it than the 
ever had in health and prosperity. Then many of 
the most bitter enemies of the saints have their 


‘s "Wy oe 2! 


ee, 
‘A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 285 


eyes opened, and like Balaam, cry out, ‘‘O that I 
might die the death of the righteous, and that my 
last end might be like his.” Yet let the same men 
recover, and lose their apprehensions of the life to 
come, and how quickly do they lose their undey- 
standing with it. Tell a dying sinner of the riches, 
honors, or pleasures of the world, and would he not 
answer, ‘“‘ What is all this to me, who must pres- 
ently appear before God, and give an account of all 
my life?’ Christian, if the apprehended nearness 
of eternity will work such strange effects upon the 
ungodly, and make them so much wiser than before, 
O what rare effects would it produce in thee, couldst 
thou always dwell in the views of God, and in lively 
thoughts of thy everlasting state. Surely a believer, 
if he improve his faith, may ordinarily have more 
quickening apprehensions of the life to come, in the 
time of his health, than an unbeliever hath at the 
hour of his death. 

A ‘heavenly mind is also fortified against tempta- 
tions, because the affections are thoroughly prepos- 
sessed with the high delights of another world. 
He that loves most, and not he that only knows 
most, will most easily resist the motions of sin. 
The will doth as sweetly relish goodness as the 
understanding doth truth ; and here les much of a 
Christian’s strength. When thou hast had a fresh, 
delightful taste of heaven, thou wilt not be so easily 
persuaded from it. You cannot persuade a child to 


- 
4 5 
‘ 


280 _ THE SAINTS’ REST. 


part with his sweetmeats while the taste is in his 
mouth. O that you would be much in feeding on 
the hidden manna, and frequently tasting the de- 
lights of heaven. How would this confirm thy 
resolutions, and make thee despise the fooleries of 
the world, and scorn to be cheated with such child- 
ish toys. If the devil had set upon Peter in the 
mount of transfiguration, when he saw Moses and 
Elias talking with Christ, would he so easily have 
been drawn to deny his Lord? What, with all that 
glory in his eye? No. So if he should set upon a. 
believing soul when he is taken up into the mount 
with Christ, what should such a soul say? “ Get 
thee behind me, Satan; wouldst thou persuade me 
hence with trifling pleasures, and steal my heart 
from this my rest? Wouldst thou have me sell 
these joys for nothing? Is any honor or delight like 
this ; or can that be profit, for which I must lose 
this?” But Satan stays till we are come down, and 
the taste of heaven is out of our mouths, and the 
glory we saw is even forgotten, and then he easily 
deceives our hearts. Though the Israelites below 
eat and drink, and rise up to play before their idol, 
Moses in the mount will not do so. O,if we could 
keep the taste of our souls continually delighted 
with the sweetness above, with what disdain should 
we spit out the baits of sin. > 
Besides, while the heart is set on heaven, a man 
is under God’s protection. If Satan then assault 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 287 
* 


us, God is more engaged for our defence, and will 
doubtless stand by us and say, “ My grace is suffi- 
cient for thee.’ When a man is in the way of 
God’s blessing, he is in the less danger of sin’s en- 
ticmg. Amidst thy temptations, Christian reader, 
use much this powerful remedy; keep close with 
God by a heavenly mind; follow your business 
above with Christ, and you will find this a surer 
help than any other. ‘The way of life is above 
to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” 
Remember, that ‘‘Noah was a just man, and perfect 
in his generation,’ for he “walked with God ;” 
and that God said to Abraham, ‘‘ Walk before me, 
and be thou perfect.” 

5. The diligent keeping your hearts in heaven 
will maintain the vigor of all your graces, and put 
life into all your duties. The heavenly Christian 
is the lively Christian. It is our strangeness to 
heaven that makes us so dull. How will the sol- 
dier hazard his life, and the mariner pass through 
storms and waves, and no difficulty keep them 
back, when they think of an uncertain, perishing 
treasure. What life, then, would it put into a 
Christian’s endeavors, if he would frequently think 
of his everlasting treasure. We run so slowly, and 
strive so lazily, because we so little mind the prize. 
Observe but the man who is much in heaven, and 
you shall see he is not like other Christians; some- 
thing of what he hath seen above appeareth in all 


288 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


his duty and conversation. If a preacher, how 
heavenly are his sermons. If a private Christian, 
what heavenly converse, prayers, and deportment. 
Set yourself upon this employment, and others will 
see the face of your conversation shine, and say, 
Surely he hath been “with God on the mount.” 
But if you he complaining of deadness and dul- 
ness—that you cannot love Christ, nor rejoice in 
his love—that you have no life in prayer or any 
other duty, and yet neglect this quickening em- 
ployment, you are the cause of your own com- 
plaints. Is not thy life ‘hid with Christ in God ?” 
Where must thou go but to Christ for it? . And 
where is that but to heaven, ‘‘ where Christ is?” 
“Thou wilt not come to Christ, that thou mayest 
have life.’ If thou wouldst have light and heat, 


why art thou no more in the sunshine? For want» 


of this recourse to heaven, thy soul is as a lamp 
not lighted, and thy duties as a sacrifice without 
fire. Fetch one coal daily from this altar, and see 
if thy offering will not burn. Light thy lamp at 
this flame, and feed it daily with oil from hence, 
and see if it will not gloriously shine. Keep close 
to this reviving fire, and see if thy affections will 
not be warm. In thy want of love to God, lift up 
thy eye of faith to heaven, behold his beauty, con- 
template his excellencies, and see whether “his 
amiableness and perfect goodness will not ravish 
thy heart. As exercise gives appetite, strength, 


i 


e" 
A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 289 


and vigor to the body, so these heavenly exercises 
will quickly cause the increase of grace and spirit- 
ual life. 

Besides, it is not false or strange fire which you 
fetch from heaven for your sacrifices: the zeal 
which is kindled by your meditations on heaven, is 
most likely to be a heavenly zeal. Some men’s 
fervency is only drawn from their books, some from 
the sharpness of affliction, some from the mouth of 
a moving minister, and some from the attention of 
an auditory; but he that knows this way to heav- 
en, and deriyes it daily from the true fountain, 
shall have his soul revived with the water of life, 
and enjoy that quickening which is peculiar to the 
saints. By this faith thou mayest offer Abel’s sac- 
rifice, more excellent than that of common men, 
and ‘“‘ by it obtain witness that thou art righteous, 
God testifying of thy gifts” that they are sincere. 
When others are ready, like Baal’s priests, to ‘‘cut 
themselves,” because their sacrifice will not burn, 
thou mayest breathe the spirit of Elijah, and in 
the chariot of contemplation soar aloft, till thy soul 
and sacrifice gloriously flame, though the flesh and 
the world should cast upon them all the water of 
their opposing enmity. Say not, How can mortals 
ascend to heaven? Faith hath wings, and medi- 
tation is its chariot. Faith is as a burning glass to 
thy sacrifice, and meditation sets it to the face of 
the sun; only take it not away too soon, but hold 

Saints’ Rest. 19 


290 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


it there a while, and thy soul will feel the happy 
effect. Reader, art thou not thinking, when thou 
seest a lively Christian, and hearest his fervent 
prayers and edifying discourse, ‘‘O how happy a 
man is this. O that my soul were in this blessed 
condition.” Why, I here advise thee, from God, 
set thy soul conscientiously to this work, wash thee 
frequently in this Jordan, and thy leprous, dead soul 
will revive, ‘‘and thou shalt know that there is a 
God in Israel,” and that thou mayest live a vigor- 
ous and joyful life if thou dost not wilfully eee 
thy own mercies. 

6. Frequent believing views of glory are the most 
precious cordials in all afflictions. These cordials, 
by cheering our spirits, render our sufferings far 
more easy, enable us to bear them with patience 
and joy, and so strengthen our resolutions that we 
forsake not Christ for fear of trouble. If the way 
be ever so rough, can it be tedious if it lead to 
heaven? O sweet sickness, reproaches, imprison- 
ments, or death, accompanied with these tastes of 
our future rest! This keeps the suffering from the 
soul, so that it can only touch the flesh. Had it 
not been for that little—alas, too little—taste 
which I had of rest, my sufferings would have 
been grievous, and death more terrible. I may 
say, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see 
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” 
Unless this promised rest “had been my delight, I 


* 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 29} 


should then have perished in mine affliction. One 
thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek 
after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 
all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the 
Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the 
time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion ; 
in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he 
shall set me upon a rock. And now shall my head 
be lifted up above mine enemies round about me. 
Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of 
joy; I will sing, yea; I will sing praises unto the 
Lord.” All sufferings are nothing to us, so far as 
we have these supporting joys. When persecution 
and fear have shut the doors, Christ can come in 
and stand in the midst, and say to his disciples, 
“Peace be unto you.” Paul and Silas can be in 
heaven, even when they are thrust into the inner 
prison, their bodies scourged with ‘many stripes, 
and, their feet fast in the stocks.” The martyrs 
‘find more rest in their flames than their persecutors 
in their pomp and tyranny, because they foresee 
the flames they escape, and the rest to which their 
fiery chariot is conveying them. If the Son of God 
will walk with us, we are safe in the midst of those 
flames which shall devour them that cast us in. 
Abraham went out of his country, “not knowing 
whither he went,’’ because “he looked for a city 
which hath foundations, whose builder and maker 
is God.” Moses ‘‘ esteemed the reproach of Christ 


292 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, because 
he had respect unto the recompense of reward. He 
forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, 
because he endured as seeing Him-who is invisible. 
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, 
that they might obtain a better resurrection.” 
Even Jesus, ‘‘the author and finisher of our faith, 
for the joy that was set before him, endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the 
right hand of the throne of God.” . 

This is the noble advantage of faith: it can look 
on the means and end together. The great reason 
of our impatience and censuring of God is, that we 
gaze on the evil itself, but fix not our thoughts on 
what is beyond it. They that saw Christ only on 
the cross or in the grave, shook their heads, and 
thought him lost ; but God saw him dying, buried, 
rising, glorified ; and all this at one view. Faith 
will, in this, imitate God, so far as it hath the 
glass of a promise to help it. We see God burying 
us under ground, but we foresee not the spring, 
when we shall-all revive. Could we but clearly 
see heaven as the end of all God’s dealings with 
us, surely none of his dealings could be grievous. 
If God would once raise us to this life, we should 
find that though heaven and sin are at a great 
distance, yet, heaven and a prison or banishment, 
heaven and the belly of a whale or a den of lions, 
heaven and consuming sickness or invading death, 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 293 


are at no such distance. But as ‘Abraham saw 
Christ’s day and rejoiced,” so we, in our most for- 
lorn state, might see that day when Christ shall 
give us rest, and therein rejoice. I beseech thee, 
Christian, for the honor of the gospel, and for thy 
soul’s comfort, leave not this heavenly art to be 
learned when, in thy greatest extremity, thou 
hast most need to use it. He that, with Stephen, 
“sees the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the 
right hand of God,” will comfortably bear the 
shower of stones. ‘The joy of the Lord is our 
strength,” and that*joy must be drawn from the 
place of our joy; and if we walk without our 
strength, how long are we likely to endure ? 

7. He whose conversation is in heaven, is the 
profitable Christian to all about him. When a 
man is in a strange country, how glad is he of the 
company of one of his own nation ; how delightful 
is it to talk of their own country, their acquaint- 
ance, and affairs at home. With what pleasure 
did Joseph talk with his brethren, and inquire after 
his father and his brother Benjamin. Is it not so 
to a Christian, to talk with his brethren that have 
been above, and inquire after his Father, and Christ | 
his Lord? When a worldly man will talk of nothing 
but the world, and a politician of state affairs, and 
a mere scholar of human learning, and a common 
professor of his duties, the heavenly man will be 
speaking of heaven, and the strange glory his faith 


pe 


head ef Christ, filled the house with the odor” 
“All that are near may be refreshed by it. 


294 THE SAINTS? REST. 


hath seen, and our speedy and blessed meeting 
there. O how refreshing and useful are his ex- 
pressions. How his words pierce and melt the 
heart, and transform the hearers into other men. 
How doth his “doctrine drop as the rain, and his 
speech distil as the dew, as the small rain upon 
the tender herb, and as the showers upon the 
grass,” while his lips publish the name of the 
Lord, and ascribe greatness unto his God. His 
sweet discourse of heaven is like the ‘‘ box of pre- 
cious ointment,” which, being ‘“‘ poured upon the 


Happy the people that have a heavenly minister. 
Happy the children and servants that have a heay- 
enly father or master. Happy the man that hath 
a heavenly companion, who will watch over thy 


ways, strengthen thee when thou art weak, cheer 


thee when thou art drooping, and ‘comfort thee 


always be blowing at the spark of thy spiritual 
life, and drawing thy soul to God, and will say to 
thee, as the Samaritan woman, ‘‘Come and see 
one that hath told me all that ever I did;” one 
that hath loved our souls to the death, ‘Is not 
this the Christ?” Is not the knowledge of God 
in Christ eternal life? Is it not the glory of the 
saints to see his glory? Come to this man’s house 


with the comfort wherewith he himself” hath been * 
so often comforted of God. This is he that will 


£ 


. 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 9295 


and sit at his table, and he will feast thy soul with 
the dainties of heaven; travel with him by the 
way, and he will direct and quicken thee in thy 
journey to heaven; trade with him in the’ world, 
and he will counsel thee to buy “ the pearl of great 
price.” If thou wrong him, he can pardon thee, 
remembering that Christ hath pardoned his greater 


offences. If thou be angry, he is meek, considering 


the meekness of his heavenly Pattern ; or, if he fall 
out with you, he is soon reconciled, when he recol- 
leets that in heaven you must be everlasting friends. 
This is the Christian of the right stamp, and all 
about him are better for him. How unprofitable 
is the society of all other sorts of Christians, in 
comparison with this. If a man should come from 
heaven, how would men long to hear what reports 
he would make of the other world, and what he had 
seen, and what the blessed there enjoy. . Would 
they not think this man the best companion, and 
his discourses the most profitable? Why, then, do 
you value the company of saints no more, and 
inquire no more of them, and relish their discourse 
no better? For every saint shall go to heaven in 
person, and is frequently there in spirit, and hath 
often viewed it in the glass of the gospel. For my 
part, I had rather have the company of a heavenly- 
minded Christian, than that of the most learned 
disputants or princely commanders. 


__. 8. No man so highly honoreth God, as he whose 


296 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


conversation isin heaven. Is not a parent dishon- 
ored when his children feed on husks, are clothed 
in rags, and keep company with none but rogues 
_ and beggars? And is not our heavenly Father, 
when we, who call ourselves his children, feed on 
earth, and the garb of our souls is like that of the 
world and our hearts familiarly converse with and 
‘cleave to the dust,” rather than stand continually 
in our Father’s presence? Surely we live below 
the children of the King, not according to the 
height of our hopes, nor the provision of our Fa- 
ther’s house, and the great preparations made for his 
saints. It is well we have a Father of tender com- 
passion, who will own his children in rags. If he 
did not first challenge his interest in us, neither our- 
selves nor others could know us to be his people. 
But when a Christian can live above, and rejoice 
his soul with the things that are unseen, how is 
God honored by such a one. The Lord will testify 
for him, This man believes me, and takes me at 
my word; he rejoices in my promise before he has 
possession ; he can be thankful for what his bodily 
eyes never saw; his rejoicing is not in the flesh; 
his heart is with me; he loves my presence, and 
he shall surely enjoy it in my kingdom for ever. 
‘Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have 
belheved. Them that honor me, I will honor.” 
How did God esteem himself honored by Caleb 
and Joshua, when they went inte the promised 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 297 


land and brought back to their brethren a taste of 
the fruits, and spoke well of the good land, and 
encouraged thé people. What-a promise and rec- 
ompense did they receive. 

9. Asoul that does not set its affections on things 
above, disobeys the commands, and loses the most 
gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of 
God. The same God that hath commanded thee 
to believe, and to be a Christian, hath commanded 
to.“ seek those things which are above, where Christ 
aitteth on the right hand of God; and to set our 
affections on things above, not on things on the 
earth.” The same God that has forbidden thee to 
murder, steal, or commit adultery, has forbidden 
thee the neglect of this great duty; and darest thou 
wilfully disobey him? Why not make conscience 
of one as well as the other? He hath made it thy 
duty, as well as the means of thy comfort, that a 
double bond may engage thee not to forsake thy own 
mercies. Besides, what are all the most glorious 
descriptions of heaven, all those discoveries of our 
future blessedness and precious promises of our rest, 
but lost to thee? Are not these the stars in the 
firmament of Scripture, and the golden lines in that 
book of God? Methinks thou shouldst not part 
with one of these promises, no, not for a world. 
As heaven is the perfection of all our mercies, so 
the promises of it in the gospel are the very soul 
of the gospel. Is a comfortable word from the 


298 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


mouth of God of such worth,-that all the comforts 
in the world are nothing to it? And dost thou 
neglect and overlook so many of them? Why 
should God reveal so much of his.counsel, and tell 
us beforehand of the joys we shall possess, but to 
make us know it for our joy? If it had not been 
to fill us with the delights of our foreknown bless- 
edness, he might have kept his purpose to:himself, 
and never have let us know it till we came to en- 
joy it. Yea, when we had got possession of our 
rest, he might still have concealed its eternity from 
us, and then the fears of losing it would have di- 
minished the sweetness of our joys. But it hath 
pleased our Father to open his counsel, and let us 
know the very intent of his heart, that our joy 
might be full, and that we might live as the heirs 
of such a kingdom. And shall we now overlook 
all? Shall we live in earthly cares and sorrows, 
and rejoice no more in these discoveries than if the 
Lord had never written them? If thy prince had 
but sealed thee a patent of some lordship, how oft 
wouldst thou cast thy eyes upon it, and make it 
thy delightful study, till thou shouldst come to 
possess the dignity itself. And hath God- sealed 
thee a patent of heaven, and dost thou let it lie by 
thee as if thou hadst forgotten it? O that our 
hearts were as high as our hopes, and our hopes-at 
high as these infallible promises ! 2 

10, It is but equal that our hearts should be on 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 299 


God, when the heart of God 1s so much on us. If 
the Lord of glory can stoop so low as to set his 
heart on sinful dust, methinks we should easily be 
persuaded to set our hearts on Christ and glory, 
and ascend to him in our daily affections, who so 
much condescends to us. Christian, dost thou not 
perceive that the heart of God is set upon thee, and 
that he is still minding thee with tender love, even 
when thou forgettest both thyself and him? = Is he 
not following thee with daily mercies, moving upon 
thy soul, providing for thy body, preserving both ? 
Doth he not bear thee continually in the arms of 
love, and promise that “all shall work together for 
thy good,” and suit all his dealings to thy greatest 
advantage, and ‘give his angels charge over thee ?” 
And canst thou be taken up with the joys below, 
and forget thy Lord, who forgets not thee? Un- 
kind ingratitude! When he speaks of his own 
kindness for us, hear what he says: ‘Zion said, 
The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath for- 
gotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, 
that she should not have compassion on the son of 
her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not 
forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the 
palms of my hands; thy walls are continually be- 
fore me.” But when he speaks of our regards to 
him, the case is otherwise. ‘Can a maid forget 
her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my 
people have forgotten me, days without number.” 


300 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


As if he should say, “‘ You will not rise one morn- 
ing, but you will remember to cover your naked- 
ness, nor forget your vanity of dress; and are these 
of more worth than your God—of more importance 
than your eternal life? And yet you can forget 
these, day after day.” Give not God cause thus 
to expostulate with us. Rather let our souls get 
up to God, and visit him every morning, and our 
hearts be towards him every moment. 

11. Our interest in heaven, and our relation to 
zt, should continually keep our hearts upon it. 
There our Father keeps his court. We call him 
“Onr Father, who art in heaven.” Unworthy 
children, that can be so taken up in their play as to 
be mindless of such a Father. There also is Christ, 
our head, our husband, our life; and shall we not 
look towards him, and send to him as oft as we can, 
till we come to see him face to face? Since “the 
heavens must receive him until the times of the 
restitution of all things,” let them also receive our 
hearts with him. There also is the ‘‘ New Jerusa- 
lem, which is the mother of us all.” And there 
are multitudes of our elder brethren. There are 
our friends and old acquaintance, whose society in 
the flesh we so much delighted im, and whose 
departure hence we so much lamented; and is this 
not attractive to thy thoughts? If they wére 
within thy reach on earth, thou wouldst go and 
visit them; and why not oftener visit them in 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 301 


spirit, and rejoice beforehand to think of meeting 
them there? ‘Socrates rejoiced that he should die, 
because he believed he should see Homer, Hesiod, 
and other eminent persons. How much more do I 
rejoice,” said a pious old minister, ‘“‘who am sure to 
see Christ my Saviour, the eternal Son of God, in 
his assumed flesh ; besides so many wise, holy, and 
renowned patriarchs, prophets, and apostles.” A 
believer should look to heaven, and contemplate 
the blessed state of the saints, and think with him- 
self, ‘‘ Though I am not yet so happy as to be with 
you, yet this is my daily comfort—you are my 
brethren and fellow-members in Christ, and there- 
fore your joys are my joys, and your glory, by this 
near relation, is my glory; especially while I be- 
lieve in the same Christ, and hold fast the same 
faith and obedience by which you were thus digni- 
fied, and rejoice in spirit with you, and congratulate 
your happiness in my daily meditations.” 
Moreover, our house and home is above, ‘‘ For we 
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle 
were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 
Why do we then look no oftener towards it, and 
‘“‘oroan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with 
our house which is from heaven?’ If our home 
were far meaner, surely we should remember it, 
because it is our home. If you were but banished 
into a strange land, how frequently would your 


‘ 


302 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


thoughts be at home. And why is it not thus with 
us in respect to heaven? Is not that more truly 
and properly our home, where we must take up our 
everlasting abode, than this, which we are every 
hour expecting to be separated from, and to see no 
more? We are strangers, and that is our country. 
We are heirs, and that is our inheritance, even 
‘‘an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us.” We 
are here in continual distress and want, and there 
lies our substance, even ‘“‘a better and an enduring 
substance.” Yea, the very hope of our souls is 
there ; all our hope of relief from our distresses ; 
all our hope of happiness, when here we are miser- 
able: all this ‘hope is laid up for us in heaven.” 
Why, beloved Christians, have we so much inter- 
est, and so few thoughts there; so near relation, 
and so little affection? Doth it become us to be 
delighted in the company of strangers, so as to for- 
get our Father and our Lord; orto be so well 
pleased with those that hate and grieve us, as to 
forget our best and dearest friends; or to be so fond 
of borrowed trifles, as to forget our own possession 
and treasure; or to be so much impressed with 
fears and wants as to forget our eternal joy and 
rest? God usually pleads his property in us; 
and thence concludes he will do us good, even 
because we are his own people, whom he hath 
chosen out of all the world. Why then do we not 


A HEAVENLY LIFE- UPON EARTH. 303 


plead our interest in him, and so raise our hearts 
above, even because he is our own God, and because 
the place is our own possession? Men commonly 
overlove and overvalue their own things, and mind 
them too much. O that we could mind our own 
inheritance, and value it half as much as it de- 
serves. 

12. Once more consider, there zs nothing but 
heaven worth setting our hearts upon. If God have 
them not, who shall? If thou mind not thy rest, 
what wilt thou mind? Hast thou found out some 
other god; or something that will serve thee in- 
stead of rest? Hast thou found on earth an eter- 
nal happiness? Where is it? What is it made of? 
Who was the man that found it out? Who was he 
that last enjoyed it? Where dwelt he? What 
was his name? Or art thou the first that ever dis- 
covered heaven on earth? Ah, wretch, trust not 
to thy discoveries ; boast not of thy gain till-expe- 
rience bid thee boast. Disquiet not thyself in look- 
ing for that which is not on earth, lest thou learn 
thy experience with the loss of thy soul, which thou 
mightest have learned on easier terms, even by the 
warnings of God in his word and the loss of thou- 
sands of souls before thee. If Satan should take 
thee up to the mountain of temptation, and “show 
thee all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory 
of them,” he could show thee nothing that is wor- 
thy thy thoughts, much less to be preferred before 


304 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


thy rest. Indeed, so far as duty and necessity 
require it, we must be content to mind the things 
below ; but who is he that contains himself within 
the compass of those limits? and yet, if we ever so 
diligently contract our cares and thoughts, we shall 
find the least to be bitter and burdensome. Chris- 
tian, see the emptiness of all these things, and the 
preciousness of the things above. If thy thoughts 
should, like the laborious bee, go over the world 
from flower to flower, from creature to creature, 
they would bring no honey or sweetness home, 
save what they gathered from their relations to 
eternity. Though every truth of God is precious, 
and ought to be defended, yet even all our study of 
truth should be still in reference to our rest ; for the 
observation is too true, that ‘‘the lovers of contro- 
versies in religion have never been warmed with 
one spark of the love of God.’ And as for mind- 
ing the ‘‘affairs of the church and the state,” so far 
as they illustrate the providence of God, and tend 
to the settling of the gospel and the government of 
Christ, and consequently to the saving of our own 
souls and those of our posterity, they are well 
worth our diligent observation ; but these are only 
their relations to eternity. Even all our dealings 
in the world, our buying and selling, our eating and 
drinking, our building and marrying, our peace and 
war, so far as they relate not to the life to come, 
but tend only to the pleasing of the flesh, are not 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 8305 


worthy the frequent thoughts of a Christian. And 
now, doth not thy conscience say that. there is 
nothing but heaven, and the way to it, that is 
worth thy minding ? 

Now, reader, are these considerations weighty or 
not? Have I proved it to be thy duty to keep thy 
heart on things above, or have I not? If thou say, 
Not, lam confident thou contradictest thy own con- 
science. If thou acknowledge thyself convinced of 
the duty, that very tongue of thine shall condemn 
thee, and that confession be pleaded against thee, 
if thou wilfully neglect such a confessed duty. Be 
thoroughly willing, and the work is more than half 
done. I have now a few plain directions to give 
you for your help in this great work; but, alas, it 
is in vain to mention them, except you be willing 
to put them into practice. However, I will pro- 
pose them to thee, and may the Lord persuade thy 
heart to the work. 


Saints” Rest. 20 


306 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


CHAPTER XII. 


DIRECTIONS HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY LIFE 
UPON EARTH. 


i 


. The hinderances to @ heavenly life: 1. Living in’ any 
known sin; 2. An is oan mind; 3. Ungodly companions; 
4. A notional religion; 5. A haughty spirit; 6. A slothful 
spirit; 7. Resting in matt atives for a heavenly life, with- 
out the thing itself, II. The duties which will promote a* 
heavenly life: 1. Be convinced that heaven is the only 
treasure and happiness; 2. Labor to know your interest in 
it; 3. And hownear itis; 4. Frequently and seriously talk 
of it; 5. Endeavor, in every duty, to raise your affections 
nearer to it; 6. To the same purpose improve every object 
and event; 7. Be much in the angelical work of praise; 
8. Possess your souls with believing thoughts of the infi- , 
nite love of God; 9. Carefully observe and cherish the 
motions of the Spirit of God; 10. Nor even neglect the 
due care of your bodily health. : 


As thou valuest the comforts of a heavenly con- 
versation, I must here charge thee, from God, to 
avoid carefully some dangerous hinderances; and 
then faithfully and diligently to practise such duties — 
as will especially assist thee in attaiming to a heay- — 


enly life. 
First, let us consider those HINDERANCES pistol 
are to be avoided with all possible care. “! 


1. Living in any known sin is a grand i 
ment to a heavenly life. What havoc will this 


A HEAVENLY LIFE-UPON EARTH. 307 


make in thy soul. O the joys that this hath de- 
stroyed; the ruin it hath made among men’s 
graces; the soul-strengthening duties it hath hin- 
dered. Christian reader, art thou one that hast used 
violence with thy conscience? Art thou a wilful 
- neglecter of known duty, either public, private, or 
secret? Art thou a slave to thine appetite, or to 
any other commanding sense? Art thou a proud 
seeker of thine own esteem? Art thou a peevish 
and passionate person, ready to take fire at every 
word, or look, or supposed slight? Art thou a 
deceiver of others in thy dealings, or one that will 
be rich, right or wrong? If this be thy case, I dare 
say heaven and-thy soul are very great strangers. 
These “beams in thine eye”’ will not suffer thee to 
look to heaven; they will be “a cloud between thee 
and thy God.” When thou dost but attempt to 
study eternity and gather refreshment from the life 
to come, thy sin will presently look thee in the face, 
and say, “These things belong not to thee. How 
shouldst thou take comfort from heaven, who takest 
so much pleasure in the lusts of the flesh? How 
will this damp thy joys, and make the thoughts of 
_ that day and state become thy trouble and not thy 
delight. Every wilful sin will be to thy joys as 
water to the fire; when thou thinkest to quicken 
them, this will quench them. It will utterly indis- 
pose and disable thee, that thou canst no more 
ascend in divine meditation than a bird can fly 


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308 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


when its wings are clipped. Sin cuts the very 
sinews of this heavenly life, O man, what a life 
dost thou lose. What daily delights dost thou sell 
for vile lusts. If heaven and hell can meet together, 
and God become a lover of sin, then mayest thou live 
in thy sin, and in the foretastes of glory ; and have 
a conversation in heaven, though thou cherish thy 
corruption. And take heed, lest it banish thee from 
heaven, as it does thy heart. And though thou be 
not.guilty, and knowest no reigning sin in thy soul, 
- think what a sad thing it would be, if ever this 
should prove thy case. Watch, therefore ; especially 
resolve to keep from the occasions of sin, and out 
of the way of temptations. What need have we 
daily to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil.” | 

2. An earthly mind is another hinderance eare- 
fully 1o be avoided. God and mammon, earth and 
heaven cannot both have the delight of thy heart. 
When the heavenly believer is blessing himself in 
his God, and rejoicing in hope of the glory to come, 
perhaps thou art blessing thyself in thy worldly 
prosperity, and rejoicing in hope of thy thriving 
here. When he is comforting his soul in the views 
of Christ, of angels and saints, whom he shall live 
with for ever, then thou art comforting thyself with 
thy wealth, in looking over thy bills and bonds, thy 
- goods, thy cattle, or thy buildings ; and im thinking 
of the favor of the great, of the pleasure of a plen- 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 309 


tiful estate, of larger provisions for thy children 
after thee, of the advancement of thy family, or 
the increase of thy dependents. If Christ pro- 
nounced him a fool that said, “Soul, take thy ease ; 
thou hast much goods laid up for many years ;” 
how much more so art thou, who knowingly speak- 
est in thy heart the same words? Tell me, What 
difference between this fool’s expressions and thy 
affections? Remember, thou hast to do with the 
Searcher of hearts. Certainly, so much as thou 
delightest and takest up thy rest on earth, so much 
of thy delight in God is abated. Thine earthly 
mind may consist with thy outward profession and 
common duties, but it cannot consist with this heav- 
enly duty. - Thou thyself knowest how seldom and 
cold, how cursory and reserved thy thoughts have 
been of the joys above, ever since thou didst trade 
so eagerly for the world. 

O the cursed madness of many that seem to be 
religious! They thrust themselves into a multitude 
of employments, till they are so loaded with labors 
and clogged with cares, that their souls are as unfit 
to converse with God, as a man to walk with a 
mountain on his back; and as unapt to soar in med- 
itation, as their bodies to leap above the sun. And 
when they have lost that heaven upon earth which 
they might have had, they take up with a few rot- 
ten arguments to prove it lawful; though indeed 
they cannot. I advise thee, Christian, who hast 


310 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


tasted the pleasures of a heavenly life, if ever thou 
wouldst taste them more, avoid this devouring gulf 
of an earthly mind. If once thou come to this, that 
thou “wilt be rich,” thou fallest into temptation 
and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful 
lusts. Keep these things loose about thee like thy 
upper garments, that thou mayest lay them by 
whenever there is need ; but let God and glory be 
next thy heart. Ever remember, that “the frend- 
ship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever, 
therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the enemy 
of God.” ‘Love not the world, neither the things 
that are in the world.- If any man love the world, 
the love of the Father is not in him.” This is plain 
dealing, and happy he that faithfully receives it. 
3. Beware of the company of the ungodly. Not 
that I would dissuade thee from necessary converse, 
or from doing the many office of love; especially, 
not from endeavoring the good of their souls as long 
as thou hast any opportunity or hope; nor would I 
have thee to conclude them to be dogs and swine, 
in order to evade the duty of reproof; nor even to 
judge them such at all, as long as there is any hope 
for the better ; much less can I approve of their 
practice who conclude men to be dogs: or swine 
before ever they faithfully and lovingly admonish 
them, or perhaps before they have known them, -or 
spoken with them. But it is the unnecessary soci- 
ety of ungodly men, and too much familiarity with 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 311 


unprofitable companions, from which [ would dis- 
suade you. Not only the profane, the swearer, the 
drunkard, and the enemies of godliness will prove 
hurtful companions to us—though these indeed are 
chiefly to be avoided—but too frequent society with 
persons merely civil and moral, whose conversation 
is empty and unedifying, may much divert our 
thoughts from heaven. Our backwardness is such, 
that we need the most constant and powerful helps. 
A stone or a clod is as fit to rise and fly in the air, 
as our hearts are naturally to move towards heaven. 
You need not hinder the rocks from flying up to the 
sky, it is sufficient that you do not help them; and 
surely, if our spirits have not great assistance, they 
may easily be kept from soaring upwards, though 
they should never meet with the least impediment. 
O think of this in the choice of your company. 
When your spirits are so. disposed for heaven that 
you need no help to lift them up, but, as flames, 
you are always mounting, and carrying with you 
all that is in your way, then indeed you may be 
less careful of your company ; but till then, as you 
love the delights of a heavenly life, be careful 
herein. What will it advantage thee in a divine 
life, to hear how the market goes, or what the 
weather is or is likely to be, or what news is stir- 
ring? This is the discourse of earthly men. What 
will it conduce to the raising of thy heart to God, 
to hear that this is an able minister, or that an emi- 


aiz THE SAINTS’ REST. 


nent Christian, or this an excellent sermon, or that © 
an.excellent book; or to hear some difficult but 
unimportant controversy? Yet this, for the most 
part, is the sweetest discourse thou art like to have 
from a formal, speculative, dead- hearted rofessor. 
Nay, if thou hadst been newly warming thy heart 
in the contemplation of the blessed joys above, 
would not this discourse benumb thy affections and 
quickly freeze thy heart again? I appeal to the 
judgment of any man that hath tried it, and mak- 
eth observations on the frame of his spirit. Men 
cannot well talk of one thing and mind another, 
especially things of such different natures. You, 
young men, who are most lable to this temptation, 
think seriously of what I say: can you have your 
hearts in heaven while among your roaring com- 
panions in an alehouse or tavern; or when you 
work in your shops with those whose common lan- 
guage is oaths, “ filthiness, or foolish talking or jest- 
ing?” Nay, let me tell you, if you choose such 
company when you might have better, and find 
most delight in such, you are so far from a heav- 
enly conversation, that as yet you' have no title to 
heaven at all, and in that state shall never come 
there. If your treasure was there, your heart could 
not be on things so distant. In a word, our com- 
pany will be a part of our happiness in heaven, and 
it is a singular part of our furtherance to it, or hin- 
derance from it. zZ 


*.* 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. Sits 


4. Avoid frequent disputes about lesser -truths, 
and a religion that lies only in opinions. They 
are usually least aquainted with a heavenly life, 
who are violent disputers about the circumstantials 
of religion. He whose religion is all in his opin- 
ions, will be most frequently and zealously speak- 
ing his opinions; and he whose religion lies in the 
knowledge and love of God and Christ, will be 
most delightfully speaking of that happy time when 
he shall enjoy them. He is a rare and precious 
Christian who is skilful to improve well-known 
truths. Therefore let me advise you who aspire 
after a heavenly life, not to spend too much of your 
thoughts, your time, your zeal, or your speech, upon 
disputes that less concern your souls; but when 
hypocrites are feeding on husks or shells, do you 
feed on the joys above. I wish you were able to 
defend every truth of God, and to this end would 
read and study; but still I would have the chief 
truths to be chiefly studied, and none to cast out 
your thoughts of eternity. The least controverted 
points are usually most weighty, and of most neces- 
_ sary, frequent use to our souls. Therefore -study 
well such scripture precepts as these: ‘‘Him that 
is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubt- 
ful disputations. Foolish and unlearned questions 
avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And 
the servant of the Lord must not strive.” “Avoid 
foolish questions and genealogies, and contentions 


314 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


and strivings about the law; for they are unprofit- 
able and vain.” ‘If any man teach otherwise, and 
consent not to wholesome words, even the words of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is 
according to godliness, he is proud, knowing noth- 
ing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, 
whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmis- 
ings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds 
and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is 
godliness ; from such withdraw thyself.” 

5. Take heed of a proud and lofty spirit. There 
is such an antipathy between this sin and God, that 
thou wilt never get thy heart near him, nor get him 
near thy heart, as long as this prevaileth in it. If 
it cast the angels out of heaven, it must needs keep 


thy heart from heaven. If it cast our first parents =< 


out of paradise, and separated between the Lord 
and us, and brought his curse on all the creatures 
here below, it will certainly keep our hearts from 
paradise, and increase the cursed separation from 
our God. Intercourse with God will keep men 
lowly, and that lowliness will promote their inter- 


course. When a man is used to be much with 


(rod, and taken up in the study of his glorious at- 
tributes, he abhors himself in dust and ashes; and 
that selfabhorrence is his best preparative to ob- 
tain admittance to God again. Therefore, after a 
soul-humbling day, or in times of trouble when the 
soul is lowest, it useth to have freest access to God, 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 3165 


and savor most of the life above. The delight of 
God is in “him that is poor, and of a contrite 
spirit, and trembleth at his word ;’ and the delight 
of such a soul is in God; and where there is mu- 
tual delight, there will be the freest admittance, 
heartiest welcome, and most frequent converse. 
But God is so far from dwelling in the soul that is 
proud, that he will-not admit it to any near ac- 
cess. ‘The proud he knoweth afar off;” “God 
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the hum- 
ble.” A proud mind is high in conceit, self-esteem, 
and carnal aspiring ; a humble mind is high indeed 
in God’s esteem, and in holy-aspiring. These two 
sorts of high-mindedness are most of all opposite to 
each other, as we see most wars are between 
princes and princes, and not between a prince and 
a ploughman. 

Well, then, art thou a man of worth in thy 
own eyes? Art thou delighted when thou hearest 
of thy esteem with men, and much dejected when 
thou hearest that they slight thee? Dost thou 
love those best that honor thee, and think meanly 
of them that do not, though they be otherwise 
men. of godliness and honesty? Must thou have 
thy humors fulfilled, and thy judgment be a rule 
and thy word a law to all about thee? Are thy 
passions kindled if thy word or will be crossed? 
Art thou ready to judge humility to be sordid base- 
ness, and knowest not how to submit to humble 


316 ; THE SAINTS’ REST. 


confession, when thou hast sinned against God or 
injured thy brother? Art thou one that lookest 
strange at the godly poor, and art almost ashamed 
to be their companion? Canst thou not serve God 
in a low place as well as a high? Are thy boast-, 
ings restrained more by prudence or artifice than' 
humility? Dost thou desire to have all men’s 
eyes upon thee, and to hear them say, “ This is 
he?” Art thou unacquainted with the deceitful- 
ness and wickedness of thy heart? Art thou more 
ready to defend thy innocence, than accuse thyself 
or confess thy fault? Canst thou hardly bear a 
close reproof, or digest plain dealing? If these 
symptoms be undeniably in thy heart, thou art a 
proud person. There is too much of hell abiding 
in thee to have any acquaintance with heaven; 
thy soul.is too like the devil to have any familiar- 
ity with God. .A proud man makes himself his 
god, and sets up himself as his idol; how, then, can 
his affections be set on God—how can he possibly 
have his heart in heaven? Invention and memory 
may possibly furnish his tongue with humble and 
heavenly expressions, but in his spirit there is no 
more heaven than there is humility. I speak the 
more of it, because it is the most common and 
dangerous sin in morality, and most promotes the 
great sin of infidelity. - 

O Christian, if thou wouldst live continually in 
the presence of thy Lord, lie in the dust, and he 


. 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 317 


will thence take thee up. ‘Learn of him to be 
meek and lowly, and thou shalt find rest unto thy 
soul.” Otherwise thy soul will be “like the troubled 
sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire 
and dirt ;” and instead of these sweet delights in 
God, thy pride will fill thee with perpetual disquiet. 
As he that humbleth himself as a little child shall 
hereafter be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, so 
shall he now be greatest in the foretastes of that 
kingdom. God “dwells with a contrite and hum- 
ble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and 
to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” There- 
fore, “humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, 
and he shall lift you up.” And when “ others are 
cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up ; 
and he shall save the humble person.” 

6. A slothful spirit is another impediment to this 
heavenly life. And I verily think there is nothing 
hinders it more than this in men of a good under- 
standing. Ifit were only the exercise of the body, 
the moving of the lips, the bending of the knee, 
men would as commonly step to heaven as they go 
to visit a friend. But to separate our thoughts and 
affections from the world, to draw forth all our 
graces, and increase each in its proper object, and 
hold them to it till the work prospers in our hands, 
this, this is the difficulty. Reader, heaven is above 
thee, and dost thou think to travel this steep ascent 
without labor and resolution? Canst thou get 


318 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


that earthly heart to heaven, and bring that back- 
ward mind to God, while thou liest still and takest 
thine ease? If lying down at the foot of the hill, 
and looking towards the top and wishing we were 
there, would serve the turn, then we should have 
daily travellers for heaven. But “the kingdom of 
heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it 
by force.” There must be violence used to get 
these first-fruits, as well as to get the full posses- 
sion. Dost thou not feel it so, though I should not 
tell thee? Will thy heart get upward, except thou 
drive it? Thou knowest that heaven is all thy 
hope, that nothing below can yield thee rest, that 
a heart seldom thinking of heaven can draw but 
little comfort thence; and yet dost thou not lose 
thy opportunities and lie below, when thou shouldst 
walk above and live with God? Dost thou not 
commend the sweetness of a heavenly life, and 
judge those the best Christians that use it, and yet 
never try it thyself? As the sluggard that stretches 
himself on his bed and cries, O that this were work- 
ing! so dost thou talk and trifle and live at thy 
ease, and say, O that I could get my heart to heav- 
en! How many read books and hear sermons, ex- 
pecting to hear of some easier way, or to meet with 
a shorter course to comfort than they are ever like 
to find in Scripture. Or they ask for directions for 
a heavenly life, and if the hearing them will serve, 
they will be heavenly Christians; but if we show 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 319 


them their work, and teli them they cannot have 
these delights on easier terms, then they leave us, 
as the young man left Christ, sorrowful. 

If thou art convinced, reader, that this work is 
necessary to thy comfort, set upon it resolutely: if 
thy heart draw back, force it on with the command 
of reason ; if thy reason begin to dispute, produce 
the dorhttbnd of God, and urge thy own necessity 
with the other considerations suggested in the for- 
mer chapter. Let not such an incomparable treas- 
ure lie before thee with thy hand in thy bosom, 
nor thy life be a continual vexation when it might 
be a continual feast, only because thou wilt not 
exert thyself. Sit not still with a disconsolate 
spirit while comforts grow before thine eyes, like a 
man in the midst of a garden of flowers, that will 
not rise to get them and partake of their sweetness. 
This I know, Christ is the fountain; but the well 
is deep, and thou must get forth this water before 
thou canst be refreshed with it. I know, so far as 
you are spiritual, you need not all this striving and 
violence ; but in part you are carnal, and as long 
as it is so there is need of labor. It was the cus- 
tom of the Parthians not to give their children any 
meat in the morning before they saw the sweat on 
their faces with some labor. And you shall find 
this to be God’s usual course, not to give his chil- 
dren the tastes of his delights till they begin to 
sweat in seeking after them. Judge, therefore, 


a 


= 


320 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


whether a heavenly life or thy carnal ease be bet- 
ter, and, as a wise man, make thy choice accord- 
ingly. Yet, let me add for thy encouragement, 
thou needest not employ thy thoughts more than 
thou now dost; it is only to fix them upon better 
and more pleasant objects. Employ but as many 
serious thoughts every day upon the excellent glory 
of the life to come, as thou now dost upon worldly 
affairs, yea, on vanities and’ impertinences, and thy 
héart will soon be in heaven. On the whole, it is 
“the field of the slothful that is all grown over 
with thorns and nettles; and the desire of the 
slothful killeth his joy, for his hands refuse to 
labor ; and it is the slothful man that saith, There 
is a lion in the way—a lion is in the streets. As 
the door turneth upon its hinges, so doth the sloth- 
ful man upon his bed. The slothful hideth his 
hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it 
again to his mouth,” though it be to feed himself 
with the food of life. What is this but throwing 
away our consolations, and consequently the pre 
cious blood that bought them? For “he that is 
slothful in his work, is brother to him that is a 
great waster.” Apply this to thy spiritual work, 
and study well the meaning of it. 

7. Contentment with the mere preparatives to 
this heavenly life, while we are utter strangers-to 
the life wtself,.is also-a dangerous and secret hin- 
derance ; when we take up with the mere study of 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 321 


heavenly things, and the notions of them, or the 
talking with one another about them; as if this 
were enough to make us heavenly. None are 
in more danger of the snare than those that are 
employed in leading the devotions of others, es- 
pecially preachers of the gospel. O how easily may 
such be deceived; while they do nothing so much 
as read and study of heaven, preach and pray and 
talk of heaven: is not this the heavenly life? Alas, 
all this is but mere preparation; this is but collect- 
ing the materials, not erecting the building itself ; 
it is but gathering the manna for others, and not 
eating and digesting it ourselves. As he that sits 
at home may draw exact maps of countries, and 
yet never see them nor travel towards them, so 
may you describe to others the joys of heaven, and 
yet never come near it in your own hearts. A 
blind man, by learning, may dispute of light and 
colors; so may you set forth to others that heav- 
enly light which never enlightened your own souls, 
and bring that fire from the hearts of your people 
which never warmed your own hearts. What 
heavenly passages had Balaam in his prophecies, 
yet how little of it in his spirit. Nay, we are 
under a more subtle temptation than any other 
men to draw us from this heavenly life. Studying 
and preaching of heaven more resembles a heav- 
enly life than thinking and talking of the world 
does; and the resemblance is apt to deceive us. 
Saints’ Rest. 21 


ry, 


322 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


This is to die the most miserable death, even to 
famish ourselves because we have bread on our 
tables, and to die for thirst while we draw water - 
for others ; thinking it enough that we have daily ~ 
to do with it, though we never drink for the re-. - 
freshment of our own souls. Be 

Secondly, having thus shown what hinderances 
will resist the work, I expect that thou resolve 
against them, consider them seriously, and avoid 
them faithfully, or else. thy labor will be vain. I 
must also tell thee that I here expect thy promise, 
as thou valuest the delights of these foretastes of 
heaven, to make conscience of performing the fol- 
lowing DUTIES ; particularly, 

1. Be convinced that heaven 7s the only treasure 
and happiness, and labor to know what a treasure 
and happiness it is. If thou do not believe it to be 
the chief good, thou wilt never set thy heart upon 
it; and this conviction must sink into thy affec- 
tions ; for if it be only a notion, it will have little 
efficacy. If Eve once supposes she sees more 
worth in the forbidden fruit than in the love and 
enjoyment of God, no wonder if it have more of her 
heart than God. If your judgment once prefer the 
delights of the flesh before the delights of the pres- 
ence of God, it is impossible your heart should be 
in heaven. As it is ignorance of the emptiness.of 
things below that makes men so overvalue them, 
so it is ignorance of the high delights above which 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 393 


is the cause that men so little mind them. If you 
see a purse of gold, and believe it to be but count- 
ers, it will not entice your affections to it. It is 
not the real excellence of a thing itself, but its 
known excellence, that excites desire. If an igno- 
rant man see a book containing the secrets of arts 
“and sciences, he values it no more than a common 
scroll, because he knows not’ what is in it; but he 
‘that knows it, highly values it, and can even for- 
bear his meat, drink, and sleep to read it. As the 
Jews killed the Messiah while they waited for him, 
because they did not know him, so the world cries 
out for rest, ant busily seeks for delight and happi- 
ness, because they know it not; for did they thor- 
oughly know what. it. is, they could not so slight 
the everlasting treasure. 

2. Labor also to know that heaven is thy own 
happiness. - We may confess heaven to be the best 
condition, though we despair of enjoying it; and 
we may desire and seek it, if we see the attainment 
but probable; but.we can never delightfully rejoice 
in it till we are in some measure persuaded of our 
title to it. What comfort is it to a man that is 
naked to see the rich attire of others? What de- 
light is it for a man that hath not a house to put 
his head in to see the sumptuous buildings of others ? 
Would not all this rather increase his anguish, and 
make him more sensible of his own misery? S8o, 

for a man to know the excellencies of heaven, and 


~ 


324 THE SAINTS? REST. 


not know whether he shall ever enjoy them, may 
raise desire and urge pursuit, but he will have little 
joy. Who will set his heart on another man’s pos- 
sessions? If your houses, your goods, your cattle, 
your children were not your own, you would less 
mind them, and less delight inthem. O, Christian, 
rest not till you can call this rest your own: bring 
thy heart to the bar of trial; set the qualifications 
of the saints on one side, and of thy soul on the 
other, and then judge how nearly they resemble. 
Thou hast the same word to judge thyself by now, 
as thou must be judged by at the great day. Mis- 
take not the Scriptures’ description of a saint, that 
thou neither acquit nor condemn thyself upon mis- 
takes. For as groundless hopes tend to confusion, 
and are the greatest cause of most men’s damnation, 
so groundless doubts tend to, and are the great cause 
of the saints’ perplexity and distress. Therefore, 
lay thy foundation for trial safely, and proceed in 
the work deliberately and resolutely, nor give over 
till thou canst say either thou hast or hast not yet 
a title to this rest. O if men did truly know that 
God is their own Father, and Christ their only Re- 
deemer and Head, and that those are their own 
everlasting habitations, and that there they must 
abide and be happy for ever, how could they but 
be transported with the forethought thereof. Ifa 
Christian could but look upon sun, moon, and stars, 
and reckon all his own in Christ, and say, ‘‘ These 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 325 


are the blessings that my Lord hath procured me, 
and things incomparably greater than these,” what 
holy raptures would his spirit feel. 

The more do they sin against their own comforts, 
as well as against the grace of the gospel, who 
plead for their unbelief, and cherish distrustful 
- thoughts of God, and injurious thoughts of their 
Redeemer; who represent the covenant as if it 
were of works, and not of grace; and Christ as an 
enemy rather than a saviour; as if he were willing 
they should die in their unbelief, when he hath 
invited them so often and so affectionately, and suf- 
fered the agonies that they should suffer. Wretches 
that we are, to be keeping up jealousies of our 
Lord when we should be rejoicing in his love. As 
if any man could choose Christ before Christ hath 
chosen him; or any man were more willing to be 
happy than Christ is to make him happy. Away 
with these injurious, if not blasphemous, thoughts. 
If ever thou hast harbored such thoughts in thy 
breast, cast them from thee, and take heed how 
thou ever entertainest them more. God hath 
written the names of his people in heaven, as you 
use to write your names or marks on your goods ; 
and shall we be attempting to raze them out, and 
to write our names on the doors of hell? But 
blessed be ‘“‘God, whose foundation standeth sure,” 
and who “‘keepeth us by his power, through faith, 
unto salvation.” 


326 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


3. Labor to apprehend how near thy rest és. 
What we think near at hand we are more sensible 
of, than that which we behold at a distance. When 
judgments or mercies are afar off, we talk of them 
with little concern; but when they draw close to 
us, we tremble at or rejoice in them, This makes 
men think on heaven so insensibly, because they 
conceive it at too great a distance; they look on it 
as twenty, thirty, or forty years off. How much 
better were it to receive “the sentence of death in 
ourselves,” and to look on eternity as near at hand. 
While I am thinking and writing of it, it hasteneth 
near, and I am even entering into it before I am 
aware. While thou art reading this, whoever thou 
art, time posteth on, and thy life will be gone, “as 
a tale that is told.” If you verily believed you 
should die to-morrow, how seriously would you 
think of heaven to-night. When Samuel had told 
Saul, ‘To-morrow shalt thou be with me,” this 
struck him to the heart. And if Christ should say 
to a believing soul, ‘To-morrow shalt thou be 
with me,” this would bring him in spirit to heaven 
beforehand. Do but suppose that you are still en- 
tering into heaven, and it will greatly help you 
more seriously to mind it. 

4. Let thy eternal rest be the subject of thy fre- 
quent serious discourse, especially with those that 
can speak from their hearts, and are seasoned 
themselves with a heavenly nature. It is pity 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 327 


Christians should ever meet together without some 
talk of their meeting in heaven, or of the way to 
it, before they part. It is pity so much time is 
spent in vain conversation and useless disputes, 
and not a serious word of heaven among them. 
Methinks we should meet together on purpose to 
warm our spirits with discoursing of our rest. To 
hear a Christian set forth that blessed, glorious 
state with life and power from the promises of the 
gospel, methinks should make us say, “Did not our 
hearts burn within us while he opened to us the 
Scriptures?” Ifa Felix will tremble when he 
hears his judgment powerfully represented, why 
should not the believer be revived when he hears 
his eternal rest described? Wicked men can be 
delighted in talking together of their wickedness ; 
and should not Christians then be delighted in 
talking of Christ, and the heirs of heaven in talk- 
ing of their inheritance? This may make our 
hearts revive, as did Jacob’s to hear the message 
that called him to Goshen, and to see the chariots 
that should bring him to Joseph. O that we were 
furnished with skill and resolution to turn the 
stream of men’s common discourse to these more 
sublime and precious things; and when men begin 
to talk of things unprofitable, that we could tell 
how to put in a word for heaven, and say, as Peter 
of his bodily food, ‘‘ Not so, for 1 have never eaten 
any thing that is common or unclean.” O the 


a 


328 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


good that we might both do and receive by this 
course. Had it not been to deter us from unprofit- 
able conversation, Christ would not have talked of 
our “giving an account of every idle word in the 
day of judgment.” Say, then, as the psalmist, 
when you are in company, ‘“‘ Let my tongue cleave 
to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem 
above my chief joy.” Then you shall find it true, 
that a ‘wholesome tongue is a tree of life.” ; 

5. Endeavor, in every duty, to raise thy affec- . 
tions nearer to heaven. God’s end in the institu- 
tion of his ordinances was, that they should be as © 
so many steps to advance us to our rest, and by __ 
which, in subordination to Christ, we might daily 
ascend in our affections. Let this be thy end in 
using them, and doubtless they will not be unsuc- 
cessful. How have you been rejoiced by a few 
lines from a friend, when you could not see him 
face to face. And may we not have intercourse 
with God in his ordinances, though our persons be © 
yet so far remote? May not our spirits rejoice in 
reading those lines which contain our legacy and 
charter for heaven? With what gladness and tri- ~ 
umph may we read the expressions of divine love, 
and hear of our celestial country, though we have 
not yet the happiness to behold it. Men that are 
separated by sea and land can by letters carry on ~ 
great and gainful trades; and may not a Christian, 
in the wise improvement of duties, drive on this 


ah 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 329 


happy trade for rest? Come, then, renounce for- 
mality, custom, and applause, and kneel down in 
secret or public prayer, with hope to get thy heart 
nearer to God before thou risest up. When thou 
openest thy Bible, or other book, hope to meet with 
some passage of divine truth, and such a blessing 
of the Spirit with it, as will give thee a fuller taste 
of heaven. When thou art going to the house of 
God, say, ‘“‘I hope to meet with somewhat from 
God to raise my affections before I return ; I hope 
the Spirit will give me his presence and sweeten 
my heart with those celestial delights; I hope 
Christ will ‘appear to me in that way, and shine 
‘about me with light from heaven ;’ let me hear his 
instructing and reviving voice, and cause the scales 
to fall from my eyes, that I may see more of that 
glory than I ever yet saw. I hope, before I return, 
my Lord will bring my heart within the view of 
rest, and set it before his Father’s presence, that I 
‘may return as ‘the shepherds’ from the heavenly 
vision, ‘glorifying and praising God for all the 
things I have heard and seen.’”? When the In- 
dians first saw that the English could converse 
together by letters, they thought there was some 
spirit enclosed in them. So would by-standers ad- 
mire, when Christians have communion with God 
in duties, what there is in those scriptures, in that 
sermon, in this prayer, that fills their hearts so full 
of joy, and so transports them above themselves. 


330 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Certainly;God would not fail us in our duties, if we 
did not fail ourselves. Remember, therefore, al- 
ways to pray for your minister, that God would put 
some divine message into his mouth which may 
leave a heavenly relish upon your spirit. 

6. Improve every object and every event to remind 
thy soul of its approaching rest. As all providences 
and creatures are means to our rest, so they point 
us to that as their end. God’s sweetest dealings 
with us at present would not be half so sweet as — 
they are, if they did not intimate some further 
sweetness. Thou takest but the bare earnest, and 
overlookest the main sum, when thou receivest thy 
mercies and forgettest thy crown. O that Christians 
were skilful in this art! You can open your Bible; 
learn to open the volumes of creation and provi- 
dence, to read there also of God and glory. Thus 
we might have a fuller taste of Christ and heaven 
in every common meal than most men have in a 
sacrament. If thou prosper in the world, let it 
make thee more sensible of thine eternal prosperity. 
If thou art weary with labor, let it make the 
thoughts of thy eternal rest more sweet. If things 
go cross, let thy desires be more earnest to have 
sorrows and sufferings for ever cease. Is thy body 
refreshed with food or sleep? remember the incon- 
ceivable refreshment with Christ. Dost thou hear 
any good news? remember what glad tidings it 
will be to hear the trump of God and the applaud- 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 331 


ing sentence of Christ. Art thou delighted with 
the society of the saints? remember what the 
perfect society in heaven will be. Is God commu- 
nicating himself to thy spirit? remember the time 
of thy highest advancement, when both thy com- 
munion and joy shall be full. Dost thou hear the 
raging noise of the wicked and the confusions of 
the world? think of the blessed harmony in heav- 
en. Dost thou hear the tempest of war? remember 
the day when thou shalt be in perfect peace, under 
the wings of the Prince of peace for ever. Thus, 
every condition and creature affords us advantages 
for a heavenly life, if we had but hearts to improve 
them. 

7. Be much in the angelic work of praise. The 
more heavenly the employment, the more it will 
make the spirit heavenly: Praising God is the work 
of angels and saints in heaven, and will be our own 
everlasting work ; and if we were more in it now, 
we should be more like what we shall be then. As 
desire, faith, and hope are of shorter continuance 
than love and joy, so also preaching, prayer, and 
ordinances, and all means for expressing and con- 
firming our faith and hope, shall cease when our 
triumphant expressions of love and joy shall abide 
for ever. The liveliest emblem of heaven that I 
know upon earth is, when the people of God, in the 
deep sense of his excellency and bounty, from hearts 
abounding with love and joy, join together, both in 


332 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


heart and voice, in the cheerful and melodious 
singing of his praises. These delights, like the tes- 
timony of the Spirit, witness themselves to be of 
God, and bring the evidences of their heavenly 
parentage along with them. 

Little do we know how we wrong ourselves by 
shutting out of our prayers the praises of God, or 
allowing them so narrow a room as we usually do, 
while we are copious enough in our confessions and 
petitions. Reader, I entreat thee, remember this : 
let praises have a larger room in thy duties; keep 
matter ready at hand to feed thy praise, as well as 
matter for confession and petition. To this end, 
study the excellencies and goodness of the Lord as 
frequently as thy own wants and unworthiness ; 
the mercies thou hast received, and those which 
are promised, as often as the sins thou hast com- 
mitted. ‘Praise is comely for the upright. Who- 
so offereth praise, glorifieth God. Praise ye the 
Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises unto his 
name, for it is pleasant. Let us offer the sacrifice 
of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of 
our lips, giving thanks to his name.” Had not 
David a most heavenly spirit, who was so much in 
this heavenly work ? Doth it not sometimes raise 
our hearts when we only read the song of Moses and 
the psalms of David? How much more would it 
raise and refresh us to be skilful and frequent in the 
work ourselves. O the madness of youth, that lay 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 333 


out that vigor of body and mind upon vain delights 
and fleshly lusts, which is so fit for the noblest 
work of man. And O the sinful folly of many of 
the saints, who drench their spirits in continual 
sadness, and waste their days in complaints and 
groans, and so make themselves, both in body and 
mind, unfit for this sweet and heavenly work. In- 
stead of joining with the people of God in his praises, 
they are questioning their worthiness and studying 
their miseries; and so rob God of his glory and 
themselves of their consolation. But the greatest 
destroyer of our comfort in this duty, is our taking 
-up with the tune and melody, and suffering the 
heart to be idle, which ought to perform the prin- 
cipal part of the work, and use the melody to re- 
vive and exhilarate itself. 

8. Ever keep thy soul possessed with believing 
thoughts of the infinite love of God. Love is the 
attractive of love. Few so vile but will love those 
that love them. No doubt it is the death of our 
heavenly life to have hard thoughts of God, to con- 
ceive of him as one that would rather damn than 
save us. This is to put the blessed God into the 
similitude of Satan. When our ignorance and un- 
belief have drawn the most deformed picture of God 
in our imaginations, then we complain that we 
cannot love him, nor delight in him. This is the 
case of many thousand Christians. Alas, that 
we should thus blaspheme God and blast our own 


334 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


joys. Scripture assures us that “‘ God is love; that 
fury is not in him; that he hath no pleasure in 


' the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn 


: 


from his way and live.” Much more hath he tes- 
tified his love to his chosen, and his full resolution 
to save them. O that we could always think of 
God as we do of a friend; as of one that unfeign- 
edly loves us, even more than we do ourselves ; 
whose very heart is set upon us to do us good, and 
hath therefore provided for us an everlasting dwell- 
ing with himself: it would not then be so hard to 
have our hearts ever with him. Where we love 
most heartily, we shall think most sweetly and 
most freely. I fear, most Christians think higher 
of the love of a hearty friend than of the love of 
God; and what wonder, then, if they love their 
friends better than God, and trust them more con- 
fidently than God, and had rather live with them 
than with God? 

9. Carefully observe and cherish the motions of the 
Spirit of God. If ever thy soul get above this 
earth, and get acquainted with this heavenly life, 
the Spirit of God must be to thee as the chariot to 
Elijah, yea, the very living principle by which thou — 
must move and ascend. O then grieve not thy 
guide, quench not thy life, knock not off thy chariot 
wheel. You little think how much the life of all 
your graces and the happiness of your souls depend 
upon your ready and cordial obedience to the Spirit. 


A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 335 


When the Spirit urges thee to secret prayer, or for- 
bids thee thy transgressions, or points to thee the 
way in which thou shouldst go, and thou wilt not 
regard, no wonder if heaven and thy soul be strange. 
If thou wilt not follow the Spirit while he would 
‘draw thee to Christ and thy duty, how should he 
lead thee to heaven, and bring thy heart into the 
presence of God? What supernatural help, what 
bold access shall the soul find in its approaches to 
the Almighty, that constantly obeys the Spirit 
And how backward, how dull, how ashamed will 
he be in these addresses, who hath often broke 
away from the Spirit that would have guided him. 
Christian reader, dost thou not feel sometimes a 
strong impression to retire from the world and 
draw near to God? Do not disobey, but take the 
offer, and hoist up thy sails while this blessed gale 
may be had. The more of the Spirit we resist, 
the deeper will it wound; and the more we obey, 
the speedier will be our pace. 

10. I advise thee, as a further help to this heav- 
enly life, neglect not the due care of thy bodily 
health. Thy body is a useful servant if thou give 
it its due, and no more than its due; but it is a 
most devouring tyrant, if thou suffer it to have what 
it unreasonably desires; and it is as a blunted knife, 
if thou unjustly deny what is necessary to its sup- 
port. When we consider how frequently men offend 
on both extremes, and how few use their bodies 


336 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


aright, we cannot wonder if they be much hindered 
in their converse with heaven. Most men are 
slaves to their appetite, and can scarcely deny any 
thing to their flesh, and are therefore willingly car- 
ried by it to their sports, or profits, or vain com- 
panions, when they should raise their minds to God 
and heaven. As you love your souls, ‘‘make not 
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lust thereof; 
but remember, ‘“‘to be carnally minded is death ; 
because the carnal mind is enmity against God; 
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither 
indeed can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh 
cannot please God. Therefore, brethren, we are 
debtors not. to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if 
ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the 
body, ye shall live.” There are a few who much 
hinder their heavenly joy by denying the body its 
necessaries, and so making it unable to serve them: 
if such wronged their flesh only, it would be no 
great matter; but they wrong their souls also; as 
he that spoils the house injures the inhabitants. 
When the body is sick and the spirits languish, 
hew heavily do we move in the thoughts and joys 
of heaven. 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 337 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THE NATURE OF HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION; WITH 
- THE TIME, PLACE, AND TEMPER FITTEST FOR IT. 


The duty of heavenly contemplation is recommended and 
defined. The-definition is illustrated. I. The times fittest 
for it are represented as, 1. Stated; 2. Frequent; 3. Sea- 
sonable—every day, particularly every Lord’s day; but 
more especially when our hearts are warmed with a sense 
of divine things, or when we are afflicted or tempted, or 
when we are near death. II. The fittest place for it. 
Ill. The fittest temper for it, 1. When our minds are most 
clear of the world, 2. And most solemn and serious. 
Once more I entreat thee, reader, as thou makest 

conscience of a revealed duty, and darest not wil- 

fully resist the Spirit—as thou valuest the high 
delights of a saint, and the soul-ravishing exercise 
of heavenly contemplation, that thou diligently 
study, and speedily and faithfully practice the fol- 
lowing directions. If, by this means, thou dost not 
find an increase of all thy graces, and dost not 
grow beyond the stature of a common Christian, 
and art not made more serviceable in thy place, 
and more precious in the eyes of all discerning per- 
sons—if thy soul enjoy not more communion with 

God, and thy life be not fuller of comfort, and thou 

hast not more support in a dying hour, then cast 

away these directions, and exclaim against me for 
ever as a deceiver. 
Saints’ Rest. 22 


338 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


The duty which I press upon thee so earnestly, 
and in the practice of which I am now to direct 
thee, is, ‘‘The set and solemn acting of all the 
powers of thy soul in meditation upon thy everlast- 
ing rest.” More fully to explain the nature of this 
duty, I will-here illustrate a little the description 
itself; and then point out the fittest time, place, 
and temper of mind for it. 

It is not improper to illustrate a little the man- 
ner in which we have described this duty of medi- 
tation, or the considering and contemplating of spir- 
itual things. It is confessed to be a duty by all, but 
practically denied by most. Many that make con- 
science of other duties, easily neglect this. They are 
troubled if they omit a sermon, a fast, or a prayer, 
in public or private, yet-were never troubled that 
they have omitted meditation perhaps all their life- 
time to this very day; though it be that duty by 
which all other duties are improved, and by which 
the soul digests truth for its nourishment and com- 
fort. It was God’s command to Joshua, ‘ This 
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that 
thou mayest observe to do according to all that i 1s 
written therein.” As digestion turns food it o 
chyle and blood for vigorous health, so meditatio 
turns the truths received and remembered ifte 
warm affection, firm resolution, Pin py conver 
sation. ‘ 


”~ 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 339 


This meditation is the acting of all the powers of 
the soul. It is the work of the living, and not of 
the dead. It is a work the most spiritual and 
sublime, and therefore not to be well performed by 
a heart that is merely carnal and earthly. “Men 
must necessarily have some relation to heaven 


- before they can familiarly converse there. I sup- 


pose them to be such as have a title to rest, when 
I persuade them to rejoice in the meditations of 
rest. And supposing thee to be a Christian, I am 
now exhorting thee to be an active Christian. And 
it is the work of the soul I am setting thee to, for 
bodily exercise here profiteth little. And it must 
have all the powers of the soul to distinguish it 
from the common meditation of students; for the 
understanding is not the whole soul, and therefore 
cannot do the whole work. As, in the body, the 
stomach must turn the food into chyle and prepare 
for the liver, the liver and spleen turn it into blood 
and prepare for the heart and brain; so, in the soul, 
the understanding must take in truths, and prepare 
them for the will, and that for the affections. 
Christ and heaven have various excellencies, and 
therefore God hath formed the soul with different 
powers for apprehending these excellencies. What 
the better had we been for odoriferous flowers, if 
we had no smell; or what good would language or 
music have done us, if we could not hear; or what 
pleasure should we have found in meats and drinks, 


340 THE SAINTS’ REST, 


without the sense of taste? So what good could all 
the glory of heaven have done us, or what pleasure 
should we have had in the perfection of God him- 
self, if we had been without the affections of love 
and, joy? And what strength or sweetness canst 
thou possibly receive by thy meditations on eter- 
nity, while thou dost not exercise those affections of 
the soul by which thou must be sensible of this 
sweetness and strength? It is the mistake of 
Christians to think that meditation is only the 
work of the understanding and memory, when 
every schoolboy can do this, or persons that hate 
the things which they think on. So that you see 
there is more to be done than barely to remember 
and think of heaven. As some labors not only stir 
a hand or a foot, but exercise the whole body, so doth 
meditation the whole soul. As the affections of 
sinners are set on the world, are turned to idols and 
fallen from God as well as their understanding, so 
must their affections be reduced to God as well as 
the understanding; and as their whole soul was 
filled with sin before, so the whole must be filled 
with God now. See David’s description of the 
blessed man: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, 
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” 
This meditation is set and solemn. As there is 
solemn prayer when we set ourselves wholly fo 
that duty, and ejaculatory prayer.when, in the 
radst of other business, we send up some short 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 341 


request to God; so also there is solemn meditation 
when we apply ourselves wholly to that work, and 
transient meditation when, in the midst of other 
business, we have some good thoughts of God in 
our minds. And as solemn prayer is either set in 
a constant course of duty, or occasional, at an 
- extraordinary season, so also is meditation. Now, 
though I would persuade you to that meditation 
which is mixed with your common labors, and also 
that to which special occasions direct you, yet I 
would have you likewise make it a constant stand- 
ing duty, as you do hearing, praying, and reading 
the Scriptures; and no more intermix other mat- 
ters with it, than you would with prayer, or other 
stated solemnities. 

This meditation is wpon thy everlasting rest. 1 
would not have you cast off your other meditations ; 
but surely, as heaven hath the preéminence in 
perfection, it should have it also in our meditation. 
That which will make us most happy when we 
possess it, will make us most joyful when we med- 
itate upon it. Other meditations are as numerous 
as there are lines in the Scripture, or creatures in 
the universe, or particular providences in the gov- 
ernment of the world. But this is a walk to 
mount Zion: from the kingdoms of this world to 
the kingdom of saints; from earth to heaven; from 
time to eternity: it is walking upon sun, moon, and 
stars, in the garden and paradise of God. It may 


<5 


342 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


seem far off, but spirits are quick ; whether in the 
body or out of the body, their motion is swift. You 
need not fear, like the men of the world, lest these 
thoughts should make you mad. It is in heaven, 
and not hell, that I persuade you to walk. It is 
joy, and not sorrow, that I persuade you to exercise. 
I urge you to look on no deformed objects, but only 
upon the ravishing glory of saints, and the unspeak- 
able excellencies of the God of glory, and. the beams 
that stream from the face of his Son. Will it dis- 
tract a man to think of his only happiness? Will 
it distract the miserable to think. of mercy, or the 
prisoner to foresee deliverance, or the poor to think 
of approaching riches and honor? Methinks it 
should rather make a man mad to think of living 
in a world of woe, and abiding in poverty and sick- 
ness, among the rage of wicked men, than to think 
of living with Christ in bliss. ‘ But wisdom is 
justified of all her children.” Knowledge hath no 
enemy but the ignorant. This heavenly course 
was never spoken against by any but those that 
never knew it, or never used it. I fear more the 
neglect of men that approve it, than the opposition 
or arguments of any against it. 

First, as to THE FITTEST TIME for this heavenly 
contemplation, let me only advise that it be stated, 
frequent, and seasonable. 

1. Give it a stated time. If thou suit thy time 
to the advantage of the work, without placing any 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 343 


religion in the time itself, thou hast no need to fear 
superstition. Stated time is a hedge to duty, and 
defends it against many temptations to omission. 
Some have not their time at command, and there- 
fore cannot set their hours; and many are so poor, 
that the necessities of their families deny them this 


. freedom: such persons should be watchful to redeem 


time as much as they can, and take their vacant 
opportunities as they fall, and especially join med- 
itation and prayer as much as they can with the 
labors of their calling. Yet those who have more 
time to spare from their worldly necessities, and 
are masters of their time, | still advise to keep this 
duty to a stated time. And indeed, if every work 
of the day had its appointed time, we should be 
better skilled both in redeeming time and perform- 
ing ‘duty. 

2. Let it be frequent as well as stated. How 
oft it should be I cannot determine, because men’s 
circumstances differ; but in general, Scripture 
requires it to be frequent, when it mentions med- 
itating day and night. For those, therefore, who 
can conveniently omit other business, I advise that 
it be once a day at least. 

Frequency in heavenly contemplation i is particu- 
larly important to prevent a shyness between God 
and thy soul. Frequent society breeds familiarity, 
and familiarity increases love and delight, and 
makes us bold in our addresses. The chief end of 


* 


344 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


this duty is, to have acquaintance and fellowship 
with God; and therefore, if thou come but seldom 
to it, thou wilt still keep thyself a stranger. When 
a man feels his need of God, and must seek his help 
in a time of necessity, then it is great encourage- 
ment to go to a God we know and are acquainted 
with. ‘“O,” saith the heavenly Christian, “1 know 
both whither I go, and to whom. I have gone this 
way many a time before now. It is the same God 
that I daily converse with, and the way has been 
my daily walk. God knows me well enough, and 
I have some knowledge of him.” On the other 
hand, what a horror and discouragement will it be 
to the soul, when it is forced to fly to God in straits, 
to think, “ Alas, I know not whither to go. I never 
went the way before. I have no acquaintance at 
the court of heaven. My soul knows not that God 
that I must speak. to, and [I fear he will not know 
my soul.” But especially when we come to die, 
and must immediately appear before this God, and 
expect to enter into his eternal rest, then the differ- 
ence will plainly appear: then what a joy will it 
be to think, “I am going to the place that I daily 
conversed in; to the place from whence I tasted 
such frequent delights; to that God whom I have 
met in my meditation so often. My heart hath 
been in heaven before now, and hath often tasted, 
its reviving sweetness; and if my eyes were so 
enlightened and my spirits so refreshed when I had 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 345 


but a taste, what will it be when I shall feed on it 
freely?” On the-contrary, what a terror will it be 
to think, ‘““I must die and go I know not whither ; 
from a place where I am acquainted, to a place 
where I have no familiarity or knowledge.” It is 
an inexpressible horror to a dying man to have 
“strange thoughts of God and heaven. I am per- 
suaded that it is the neglect of this duty which so 
commonly makes death, even to godly men, unwel- 
come and uncomfortable. Therefore I persuade to 
frequency in this duty. 

And. as it will prevent shyness between thee and 
God, so also it will prevent unskilfulness in the duty 
itself. How awkwardly do men set their hands to a 
work in which they are seldom employed. Whereas 
frequency will habituate thy heart to the work, and 
make it more easy and delightful. The hill which 
made thee pant and blow at first going up, thou 
mayest easily run up when thou art once accus- 
tomed to it. | 

Thou wilt also prevent the loss of the heat and 
life thou hast obtained. If thou eat but once in two 
or three days, thou wilt lose thy strength as fast as 
it comes. If in holy meditation thou get near to | 
Christ and warm thy heart with the fire of love, 
and then come but seldom, thy former coldness will 
soon return, especially as the work is so spiritual 
and against the bent of depraved nature. It is true, 
the intermixing of other duties, especially secret 


346 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


prayer, may do much to the keeping of thy heart 
above; but meditation is the life of most other 
duties, and the view of heaven is the life of med- 
itation. 

3. Choose also the most seasonable time. All 
things are beautiful and excellent in their season. 
Unseasonableness may lose the fruit of thy labor, 
~imay raise difficulties in the work, and may turn a 
duty toa sin. The same hour may be seasonable 
to one and unseasonable to another. Servants and 
laborers must take that season which their business 
can best afford, either while at work, or in travel- 
ling, or when they le awake in the night. Such 
as can choose what time of the day they will, 
should observe when they find their spirits most 
active and fit for contemplation, and fix upon that 
as the stated. time. I have always found that the 
fittest time for myself is the evening, from sun-set- 
ting to the twilight. I the rather mention this, 
because it was the experience of a better and wiser 
man; for it is expressly said, ‘‘Isaac went out to 
meditate in the field at the even-tide,”’ 

The Lord’s day is exceeding seasonable for this 
exercise. When should we more seasonably con- 
template our rest than on that day of rest which 
typifies it to us? It being a day appropriated to 
spiritual duties, methinks we should never exclude 
this duty, which is so eminently spiritual. I verily 
think this is the chief work of a Christian Sabbath, 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 347 


and most agreeable to the design of its positive insti- 
tution. What fitter time to converse with our Lord 
than on the Lord’s day? What fitter day to ascend 
to heaven than that on which he arose from earth, 
and fully triumphed over death and hell? The 
fittest temper for a true Christian is, ike John, to 
“be in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” And what 
can bring us to this joy in the Spirit, but the spir- 
itual beholding of our approaching glory? Take 
notice of this, you that spend the Lord’s day only 
in public worship; your allowing no time to private 
duty, and therefore neglecting this spiritual duty of 
meditation, is very hurtful to your souls. You also 
that have time on the Lord’s day for idleness and 
vain discourse, were you but acquainted with this 
duty of contemplation, you would need no other 
pastime ; you would think the longest day short 
enough, and be sorry that the night had shortened 
your pleasure. Christians, let heaven have more 
share in your Sabbaths, where you must shortly 
keep your everlasting Sabbaths. Use your Sab- 
baths as steps to glory, till you have passed thern 
all, and are there arrived. Especially you that are 
poor, and cannot take time in the week as you 
desire, see that you well improve this day ; as your 
bodies rest from their labors, let your spirits seek 
after rest from God. 

Besides the constant seasonableness of every day, 
and particularly every Lord’s day, there are also 


348 THE SAINTS? REST. 


more peculiar seasons for heavenly salar 0 
As for instance, 

When God hath more abundantly warmed thy 
spirit with fire from above, then thou mayest soar 
with greater freedom. A little labor will set thy 
heart a going at such a time as this; whereas at 
another time thou mayest take pains to little pur- 
pose. Observe the gales of the Spirit, and how the 
Spirit of Christ doth move thy spirit. ‘* Without 
Christ we can do nothing ;” and therefore let us 
be doing while he is doing; and be sure not to be 
out of the way, nor asleep, when he comes. When 
the Spirit finds thy heart, like Peter, in prison and 
in irons, and smites thee, and says, “Arise up 
quickly, and follow me,” be-sure thou then arise 
and follow ; and thou shalt find thy chains fall off, 
and all doors will open, and thou wilt be at heav- 
en before thou art aware. 

Another peculiar season for this duty is when 
thou art in a suffering, distressed, or tempted state. 
When should we take our cordials, but in time of 
fainting? When is it more seasonable to walk to 
heaven than when we know not in what corner of 
earth to live with comfort? Or when should our 
thoughts converse more above than when we have 
nothing but grief below? Where should Noah's 
dove be but in the ark, when the waters cover all 
the earth, and she cannot find rest for the sole of 
her foot?- What should we think on but our Fa- 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 349 


ther’s house, when we have not even the husks of 
the world to feed upon? Surely God sends thy 
afflictions for this very purpose. Happy art thou, 
poor man, if thou make this use of thy poverty ; 
and thou that art sick, if thou so improve thy sick- 
ness. It is seasonable to go to the promised land, 
when our burdens are increased in Egypt and our 
straits in the wilderness. Reader, if thou knew- 
est what a cordial to thy griefs the serious views 
of glory are, thou wouldst less fear these harmless 
troubles, and more use that preserving, reviving 
remedy. ‘In the multitude of my” troubled 
“thoughts within me,” saith David, ‘‘ thy comforts 
delight my soul.” ‘JI reckon,” saith Paul, “that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory which shall be re- 
vealed in us.” ‘For which cause we faint not ; 
but though our outward man perish, yet the inward 
man is renewed day by day. For our light afflic- 
tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while 
we look not at the things which are seen, but at 
the things which are not seen; for the things which 
are seen are temporal, but the things which are not 
seen are eternal.” 

And another season peculiarly fit for this heav- 
enly duty is, when the messengers of God summon 
us todie. When should we more frequently sweeten 
our souls with the believing thoughts of another 


350 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


life, than when we find that this is almost ended ? 
No men have greater need of supporting joys than 
dying men; and these joys must be drawn from 
our eternal joy. As heavenly delights are sweetest 
when nothing earthly is joined with them, so the 
delights of dying Christians are oftentimes the 
sweetest they ever had. What a prophetic blessing 
had dying Isaac and Jacob for their sons. With 
what a heavenly song and divine benediction did 
Moses conclude his life. What heavenly advice 
and prayer had the disciples from their Lord, when 
he was about to leave them. When Paul was 
“ready to be offered,’ what heavenly exhortation 
and advice did he give the Philippians, Timothy, 
and the elders of Ephesus. How near to heaven 
was John in Patmos, but a little before his trans- 
lation thither. It is the general temper of the 
saints to be then most heavenly, when they are 
nearest heaven. If it be thy case, reader, to per- 
ceive thy dying time draw on, O where should thy 
heart now be but with Christ? Methinks thou 
shouldst even behold him standing by thee, and 
shouldst bespeak him as thy father, thy husband, 
thy physician, thy friend. Methinks thou shouldst, 
as it were, see the angels about thee, waiting to 
perform their last office to thy soul; even those 
angels which disdained not to carry into Abraham’s 
bosom the soul of Lazarus, nor will think much to 
conduct thee thither. Look upon thy pain and 





HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 351 


sickness as Jacob did on Joseph’s chariots, and let 
thy spirit revive within thee, and say, ‘‘It is enough. 
Christ is yet alive; because he liveth, I shall live 
also.” Dost thou need the choicest cordials? Here 
are choicer than the world can afford ; here are all 
the joys of heaven, even the vision of God and 
Christ, and whatsoever the blessed here possess. 
These dainties are offered thee by the hand of 
Christ; he hath written the receipt in the promises 
of the gospel; he hath prepared the ingredients in 
heaven: only put forth the hand of faith and feed 
upon them, and rejoice and live. “ The Lord saith 
to thee, as to Elijah, “Arise and eat, because the 
journey is too great for thee.’ Though it be not 
long, yet the way is miry ; therefore obey his voice, 
arise and eat, ‘‘and in the strength of that meat 
thou mayest go to the mount of God ;” and, like 
Moses, ‘‘die in the mount whither thou goest up ;” 
and say, as Simeon, “ Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, for mine eye”’ of faith “ hath 
seen thy salvation.” 

Secondly, concerning the ritTEST PLACE for heav- 
enly contemplation, it is sufficient to say that the 
most convenient is some private retirement. Our 
spirits need every help, and to be freed from every 
hinderance in the work. If, in private prayer, 
Christ directs us to ‘enter into our closet and shut 
the door, that our Father may see us in secret,” so 
should we do this in meditation. How often did 


? 


302 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Christ himself retire to some mountain or wilder- 
ness, or other solitary place. I give not this advice 
for occasional meditation, but for that which is set 
and solemn. ‘Therefore withdraw thyself from all 
society, even that of godly men, that thou mayest 
a while enjoy the society of thy Lord. If astudent 
cannot study in a crowd, who exerciseth only his 
invention and memory, much less shouldst thou be 
in a crowd, who art to exercise all the powers of 
thy soul, and upon an object so far above nature. 
We are fled so far from superstitious solitude, that 
we have even cast off the solitude of contemplative 
devotion. We seldom read of God’s appearing, by 
himself or by his angels, to any of his prophets or 
saints in a crowd; but frequently when they were 
alone. 

But observe for thyself what place best agrees 
with thy spirit, within doors or without. Isaac’s 
example, in ‘going out to meditate in the field,” 
will, I am persuaded, best suit with most. - Our 
Lord so much used a solitary garden, that even 
Judas, when he came to betray him, knew where 
to find him: and though he took his disciples 
thither with him, yet he “was withdrawn from 
them” for more secret devotions; and though his 
meditation be not directly named, but only his 
praying, yet it is very clearly implied; for his soul 
is first made sorrowful with bitter meditations on 
his sufferings and death, and then he poureth it out 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 353 


in prayer. So that Christ had his accustomed place, 
and’ consequently accustomed duty; and so must 
we; he hath a place that is solitary, whither he 
retireth, even from his own disciples; and so must 
we: his meditations go further than his thoughts ; 
they affect and pierce his heart and soul; and so 
must ours. Only there is a wide difference in the 
object: Christ meditates on the sufferings that our 
sins had deserved, so that the wrath of his Father 
passed through all his soul; but we are to meditate 
on the glory he hath purchased, that the love of 
the Father and the joy of the Spirit may enter our 
thoughts and revive our affections and overflow our 
souls. 

Thirdly, I am next to advise thee concerning the 
PREPARATION OF THY HEART for this heavenly con- 
templation. The success of the work much depends 
on the frame of thy heart. ~ When man’s heart had 
nothing in it to grieve the Spirit, it was then the 
delightful habitation of his Maker. God did not 
quit his residence there till man expelled him by 
unworthy provocations. There was no shyness or 
reserve till the heart grew sinful, and too loathsome 
a dungeon for God to delight in. And were this 
soul reduced to its former innocency, God would 
quickly return to his former habitation ; yea, so far 
as it is renewed and repaired by the Spirit, and 
purged from its lusts, and beautified with his image, 
the Lord will yet acknowledge it as his own: Christ 

Saints’ Rest, 23 


‘ 


304. THE SAINTS’ REST. 


will manifest himself unto it, and the Spirit will 
take it for his temple and residence. So far as the 
heart-is qualified for conversing with God, so far it 
usually enjoys him. Therefore, “with all diligence 
keep thy heart, for out of it are the issues of life.” 
More particularly, 

1. Get thy heart as clear from the world as 
thou canst. Wholly lay by the thoughts of thy 
business, troubles, enjoyments, and every thing that 
may take up any room in thy soul... Get it as 
empty as thou possibly canst, that it may be the 
more capable of being filled with God. If thou 
couldst perform some outward duty with a part of 
thy heart while the remainder is absent, yet, this 
duty, above all, 1 am sure thou. canst not. When 
thou shalt go into the mount of contemplation, thou 
wilt be like the covetous man at the heap of gold, 
who, when he might take as much as he could, 
lamented that he was able to carry no more; thou 
wilt find as much of God and glory as thy narrow 
heart is able to contain, and almost nothing to 
hinder thy full possession but the incapacit> of thy 
own spirit. Then thou wilt think, “O that this 
understanding and these affections could contain 
more. It is more my unfitness than any thing else 
that even this place is not my heaven. ‘God is in 
this place, and I know it not.’ This ‘ mount is full 
of chariots of fire ;’ but mine eyes are shut, and I 
cannot see them. O the words of love Christ hath 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 355 


to speak, and wonders of love he hath to show, but 
I cannot bear them yet. Heaven is ready for me, 
but my heart is unready for heaven.” Therefore, 
reader, seeing thy enjoyment of God in this con- 
templation much depends on the capacity and dis- 
position of thy heart, seek him here, if ever, with 
all thy soul. Thrust not Christ into the stable and 
the manger, as if thou hadst better guests for the 
chief rooms. Say to all thy worldly business and 
thoughts, as Christ to his disciples, “Sit ye here, 
while I go and pray yonder ;” or as Abraham to 
his servants, when he went to offer Isaac, ‘‘ Abide 
ye here, and I will go yonder and worship, and 
come again to you.” Even as ‘the priests thrust 
king Uzziah out of the temple,’’ where he presumed 
to burn incense, when they saw the leprosy upon 
him; so do thou thrust those thoughts from the 
temple of thy heart, which have the badge of God’s 
prohibition upon them. 

2. Be sure to enter upon this work with the 
greatest solemnity of heart and mind. There is 
no trifling in holy things. ‘‘ God will be sanctified 
in them that come nigh him.” These spiritual, 
excellent, soul-raising duties are, if well used, most 
profitable ; but, when used unfaithfully, most dan- 
gerous. -Labor, therefore, to have the deepest 
apprehensions of the presence of God and his in- 
comprehensible greatness. If queen Esther must 
not draw near “till the king hold out the sceptre,” 


356 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


think, then, with what reverence thou shouldst 
approach Him who made the worlds with the word 
of his mouth, who upholds the earth as in the palm 
of his hand, who keeps the sun, moon, and stars in 
their courses, and who sets bounds to the raging 
sea! Thou art going to converse with Him before 
whom the earth will quake, and. devils do tremble, 
and at whose bar thou and all the world must 
shortly stand and be finally judged. O think, “I 
shall then have lively apprehensions of his majesty. 
My drowsy spirits will then be awakened, and my 
_ irreverence be laid aside: and why should I not 
now be roused with the sense of his greatness, and 
the dread of his name possess my soul?” Labor 
also to apprehend the greatness of the work which 
thou attemptest, and to be deeply sensible both of 
its importance and excellency. If thou wast plead- 
ing for thy life at the bar of an earthly judge, thou 
wouldst be serious, and yet that would be a trifle 
to this. If thou wast engaged in such a work as 
David against Goliath, on which the welfare of a 
kingdom depended, in itself considered, it were 
nothing to this. Suppose thou wast going to such 
a wrestling as Jacob’s, or to see the sight which the 
three disciples saw in the mount, how seriously, how 
reverently wouldst thou both approach and behold. 
If but an angel from heaven should appoint to meet 
thee at the same time and place of thy contempla- 
tions, with what dread wouldst thou be filled. 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 8457 


Consider, then, with what a spirit thou shouldst 
meet the Lord, and with what seriousness and awe 
thou shouldst daily converse with him. Consider 
also the blessed issue of the work, if it succeed: it 
will be thy admission into the presence of God, and 
the beginning of thy eternal glory on earth; a 
‘means to make thee live above the rate of other 
men, and fix thee in the next room to the angels 
themselves, that thou mayest both live and die 
joyfully. The prize being so great, thy prepara- 
tions should be answerable. None on earth live 
such a life of joy and blessedness as those who are 
acquainted with this heavenly conversation. The 
joys of all other men are but like a child’s plaything, 
a fool’s laughter, or a sick man’s dream of health. 
He that trades for heaven is the only gainer, and 
he that neglects it is the only loser, How seriously, 
therefore, should this work be done. 


358 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


WHAT USE HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION MAKES OF 
CONSIDERATION, THE AFFECTIONS, SOLILOQUY, 
AND PRAYER. 


I. The use of consideration, and its great influeqia over the 
heart. II. Contemplation is promoted by the affections; 
eee aes By love; 2. Desire; 3. Hope; 4. Courage, 
or boldness; 5. Joy. Il. The Setatiedl of soliloquy and 
prayer in nee contemplation. 

Havine set thy heart in tune, we now come to 
the music itself. Having got an appetite, now ap- 
proach to the feast, and delight thy soul as with 
marrow and fatness. Come, for all things are now 
ready. Heaven and Christ and the exceeding 
weight of glory are before you. Do not make lght 
of this invitation, nor begin to make excuses ; who- 
soever thou art, rich or poor, though in an alms- 
house or hospital, though in the highways or 
hedges, my commission is, if possible, to compel 
you to come in; and blessed is he that shall eat 
bread in the sina of God. The manna lieth 
about your tents; walk out, gather it up, take it 
home, and feed upon it. In order to this, I am 
only to direct you how to use your consideration and 
affections, your soliloquy and prayer. 

First, CONSIDERATION is the great instrument by 
which this heavenly work is carried on. This 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 359 


must be voluntary, and not forced. Some men con- 
sider unwillingly ; so God will make the wicked 
consider their sins, when he shall “set them in 
order before their eyes ;” so shall the damned con- 
sider the excellency of Christ, whom they once 
despised, and the eternal joys which they have 
foolishly lost. Great is the power which consider- 
ation hath for moving the affections and impressing 
things on the heart; as will appear by the follow- 
ing particulars : . 

1. Consideration, as it were, opens the door be- 
tween the head and the heart. The understanding 
having received truths, lays them up in the mem- 
ory, and consideration conveys them from thence to 
the affections. What excellency would there be in 
much learning and knowledge, if the obstructions 
between the head and the heart were but opened, 
and the affections did but correspond to the under- 
standing. He is usually the best scholar whose 
apprehension is quick, clear, and tenacious ; but he 
is usually the best Christian-whose apprehension is 
the deepest and most.affectionate, and who has the 
readiest passages not so much from the ear to the 
brain, as from that to the heart. And though the 
Spirit be the principal cause, yet, on our part, this 
passage must be opened by consideration. 

2. Consideration presents to the affections those 
things which are most wmportant. The most de- 
lichtful object does not entertain where it is not 


360 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


seen, nor the most joyful news affect him who does 
not hear it; but consideration presents to our view 
those things which were as absent, and brings them 
to the eye and ear of the soul. Are not Christ and 
glory affecting objects? Would they not work 
wonders upon the soul, if they were but clearly 
discovered, and our apprehensions of them in some 
measure corresponded to their worth? It is con- 
sideration that presents them tous: this is the 
Christian’s perspective by which he can see from 
earth to heaven. 

3. Consideration also presents the most important 
things in the most affecting way. It reasons the 
case with a man’s own heart. When a believer 
would reason his heart to heavenly contemplation, 
how many arguments offer themselves from God 
and Christ, from each of the divine perfections, 
from our former and present state, from promises, 
from present sufferings and enjoyments, from hell 
and heaven! Every thing offers itself to promote 
our joy, and consideration is the hand to draw them 
all out; it adds one-reason to another, till the 
scales turn: this it does when persuading to joy, 
till it has silenced all our distrusts and sorrows, and 
our cause for rejoicing lies plain before us. If an- 
other’s reasoning is powerful with us, though we are 
not certain whether he intends to inform or deceive 
us, how much more should our own reasoning pre- 
vail with us, when we are so well acquainted with 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. “361 


our own intentions. Nay, how much more should 
God’s reasoning prevail with us, which we are sure 
cannot deceive, or be deceived. Now, consideration 
is but the reading over and repeating God’s reasons 
to our hearts. As the prodigal had many and 
strong reasons to plead with himself why he should 
return to his father’s house, so have we to plead 
with our affections, to persuade them to our Father’s 
everlasting mansions. 

4, Consideration exalts reason to tts just authority. 
Tt helps to deliver it from its captivity to the senses, 
and sets it again on the throne of the soul. When 
reason is silent, it is usually subject ; for when it 
is asleep the senses domineer. But consideration 
awakens our reason, till, like Samson, it rouses up 
itself, and breaks the bonds of sensuality, and bears 
down the delusions of the flesh. What strength can 
the lion exert while asleep? Whatis a king, when 
dethroned, more than another man? Spiritual 
reason, excited by meditation, and not fancy or 
fleshly sense, must judge of heavenly joys. Con- 
sideration exalts the objects of faith, and compara- 
tively disgraces the objects of sense. The most 
inconsiderate men are most sensual. It is too easy 
and common to sin against knowledge ; but against 
sober, strong, persevering consideration men seldom 
offend. 

5. Consideration makes reason strong and active. 
Before, it was a standing water, but now as a stream 


362 / THE SAINTS’ REST. 


which violently bears down all before it. Before, 
it was as the stones in the brook, but now like that 
out of David’s sling, which smites the Goliath of our 
unbelief in the forehead. As wicked men continue 
wicked because they bring not reason into action 
and exercise ;.so godly men are uncomfortable be- 
cause they let their reason and faith le asleep, and 
do not stir them up to action by this work of medi- 
tation. What fears, sorrows, and joys will our very 
dreams excite. How much more, then, would se- 
rious meditation affect us. 

6. Consideration can continue. and persevere in 
this rational employment. Meditation holds reason 
and faith to their work, and blows: the fire till it 
thoroughly burns. To run a few steps will not get 
a man heat, but walking an hour may; and though 
a sudden occasional thought of heaven will not-raise 
our affections to any spiritual heat, yet meditation 
can continue our thoughts till our hearts grow warm. 
Thus you see the powerful tendency of considera- 
tion to produce this great elevation of the soul in 
heavenly contemplation. 

Secondly, let us next see how this rretigelies work 
is promoted by the particular exercise of THE aFr- 
FEcTIONS. It is by consideration that we first have 
recourse to the memory, and from thence take those 
heavenly doctrines which we intend to make the 
subject of our meditation; such as promises of 
eternal life, descriptions of the saints’ glory, the 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 363 


resurrection, etc. We then present them to our 
judgment, that it may deliberately view them and 
take an exact survey, and determine uprightly 
concerning the perfection of our celestial happiness, 
against all the dictates of flesh and sense, and so as 
to magnify the Lord in our hearts, till we are filled 
with a holy admiration. But the principal thing 
is to exercise not merely our judgment, but our 
faith in the truth of our everlasting rest ; by which 
I mean both the truth of the promises, and of our 
own personal interest in them and title to them. 
If we did really and firmly believe that there is 
such a glory, and that within a few days our eyes 
shall behold it, O what passion would it raise with- 
in us; what astonishing apprehensions of that life 
would it produce; what love, what longing would 
it excite within us! O how it would actuate every 
affection—how it would transport us with joy, upon 
the least assurance of our title. Never expect to 
have love and joy move when faith stands still, which 
must lead the way. Therefore daily exercise faith, 
and set before it the freeness of the promise, God’s 
urging all to accept it, Christ’s gracious disposition, 
all the evidences of the love of Christ, his faithful- 
ness to his engagement, and the evidences of his 
love in ourselves; lay all these together, and think 
whether they do not testify the good will of the 
Lord concerning our salvation, and may not prop- 


erly be pleaded against our unbelief. Thus, when 
a 


364 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the judgment has determined, and faith has appre- 
hended the truth of our happiness, then may our 
meditation proceed to raise our affections; and par- 
ticularly love, desire, hope, courage or boldness, and 
joy. 

1. Love is the first affection to be excited in 
heavenly contemplation ; the object of it is good- 
ness. Here, Christian, is the soul-reviving part of 
thy work. Go to thy memory, thy judgment, and 
thy faith, and from them produce the excellencies 
of thy rest; present these to thy affection of love, 
and thou wilt find thyself, as it were, in another 
world. Speak out, and love can hear. Do but 
reveal these things, and love can see. It is the 
brutish love of the world that is blind; divine love 
is exceedingly quick-sighted. Let thy faith take 
hold of thy heart, and show it the sumptuous build- 
ings of thy eternal habitation, and the glorious 
ornaments of thy Father’s house, even the mansions 
Christ is preparing, and the honors of his kingdom ; 
let thy faith lead thy heart into the presence of 
God, and as near as thou possibly canst, and say to 
it, ‘‘ Behold the Ancient of days, the Lord Jehovah, 
whose name is [ AM: this is he who made all the 
worlds with his word, who upholds the earth, who 
rules the nations, who disposes of all events, who 
subdues his foes, who controls the swelling waves 
of the sea, who governs the winds, and causes the 
sun to run its race, and the stars to know their 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION, 865 


courses. ‘This is he who loved thee from everlast- 
ing, formed thee in the womb, gave thee this soul, 
brought thee forth, showed thee the light, and 
ranked thee with the chief of his earthly creatures ; 
who endued thee with thy understanding, and 
beautified thee with his gifts; who maintains thy 
life and all its comforts, and distinguishes thee 
from the most miserable and vilestof men. O here 
is an object worthy of thy love! Here shouldst 
thou even pour out thy soul in love. Here it is 
impossible for thee to love too much. This is the 
Lord who hath blessed thee with his benefits, 
‘spread thy table in the sight of thine enemies, and 
made thy cup overflow.’ This is he whom angels 
and saints praise, and the heavenly host for ever 
magnify.” Thus do thou expatiate on the praises 
of God, and open his excellencies to thy heart, till 
the holy fire of love begins to kindle in thy breast. 

If thou dost not yet feel thy love burn, lead thy 
heart further, and show it the Son of the living 
God, whose name is ‘‘ Wonderful, Counsellor, the 
mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of 
peace :” show it the King of saints on the throne 
of his glory, ‘the First and the Last ; who is, and 
was, and is to come: who liveth and was dead, 
and behold, he liveth for evermore ; who hath made 
thy peace by the blood of his cross,” and hath 
prepared thee with himself a habitation of peace: 
his office is that of the great peace-maker; his 


366 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


_ kingdom is the kingdom of peace, his gospel is the 
tidings of peace, his voice to thee now is the voice 
of peace. Draw near and behold him. Dost thou 
not hear his voice? He that bade Thomas come 
near and see the print of the nails, and put his 
finger into his wounds—he it is that ealls to thee, 
‘‘Come near, and view the Lord thy Saviour, and 
be not faithless, but believing ; peace be unto thee, 
fear not, it is I.” Look well upon him. Dost 
thou not know him? It is he that brought thee 
up from the pit of hell, reversed the sentence of 
thy damnation, bore the curse which thou shouldst 
have borne, restored thee to the blessing thou hadst 
forfeited, and purchased the advancement which 
thou must inherit forever. And dost thou not yet 
know him? His hands were pierced, his head, his 
side, his heart were pierced, that by these marks 
thou mightest always know him. Dost thou not 
remember when he “‘ found thee lying in thy blood, 
and took pity on thee and dressed thy wounds, and 
brought thee home, and said unto thee, Live?” 
Hast thou forgotten, since he wounded himself to 
cure thy wounds, and let out his own blood to stop 
thy bleeding? If thou knowest him. not by the 
face, the voice, the hands, thou mayest know him 
by that heart : that soul-pitying heart is his; it can 
be none but his; love and compassion are its cer- 
tain signatures: this is he who chose thy life before 
his own; who pleads his blood before his Father, 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 367 


and makes continual intercession for thee. If he 
had not suffered, what hadst thou suffered! There 
was but a step between thee and hell when he in- 
terposed and bore the stroke. And is not here fuel 
enough for thy love to feed on? Doth not thy 
throbbing heart stop here to ease itself, and, like 
Joseph, ‘seek for a place to weep in?” or do not 
the tears of thy love bedew these lines? Go on, 
then, for the field of love is large; it will be thy 
eternal work to behold and love; nor needest thou 
want work for thy present meditation. 

How often hath thy Lord found thee, like Hagar, 
sitting and weeping, and giving up thy soul for 
lost, and he opened to thee a well of consolation, 
and also opened thine eyes to see it. How often, 
in the posture of Elijah, desiring to die out of thy 
misery, hath he spread thee a table of unexpected 
relief, and sent thee on his work refreshed and en- 
couraged. How often, in the case of the prophet’s 
servant, crying out, ‘Alas, what shall we do, for a 
host doth encompass us,” hath he ‘opened thine 
eyes to see more for thee than against thee.’ How 
often, like Jonah, peevish and weary of thy life, 
hath he mildly said, ‘‘ Doest thou well to be angry” 
with me, or murmur against me? How often hath 
he set thee on “ watching and praying,” repenting 
and believing, ‘‘and, when he hath returned, hath 
found thee asleep; and yet he hath covered thy 
‘neglect with a mantle of love, and gently pleaded 


Sua 


368 THE SAINTS? REST. 


for thee, that ‘the spirit is willing, but the flesh is 
weak.” Can thy heart be cold when thou thinkest 
of this? Can it contain when thou rememberest 
these boundless compassions? Thus, reader, hold 
forth the goodness of Christ to thy heart; plead 
thus with thy frozen soul, till, with David, thou 
canst say, “‘My heart was hot within me; while I 
was musing, the fire burned.” If this will not 
rouse up thy love, thou hast all Christ’s personal 
excellencies to add, all his particular mercies to 
thyself, all his sweet and near relations to thee, 
and the happiness of thy everlasting abode with 
him. Only follow them close to thy heart. Deal 
with it as Christ did with Peter, when he thrice 
asked him, ‘‘ Lovest thou me ?”’ till he was grieved, 
and answered, ‘‘ Lord, thou knowest that I love 
thee.” So grieve and shame thy heart out of its 
stupidity, till thou canst truly say, “‘ I know, and my 
Lord knows, that I love him.” 

2. The next affection to be excited in heavenly 
contemplation, is desire. The object of it 1s good- 
ness, considered as absent, or not yet attained. If 
love be warm, desire will not be cold. Think with 
thyself, “What have I seen! O the incomprehen- 
sible glory; O the transcendent beauty; O bless- 
ed souls that now enjoy it, who see a thousand 
times more clearly what I have seen at a distance, 
and through dark, interposing clouds. What a 
difference between my state and theirs. I am 


* HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 369 


‘sighing, and they are singing; I am offending, and 
they are pleasing God: I am a spectacle of pity, 
like a Job or Lazarus; but they are perfect, and 
without blemish. Iam here entangled in the love 
of the world, while they.are swallowed up in the 
love of God. They have none of my cares and 
fears ; they weep not.in secret; they languish not 
in sorrows ; these.‘ tears are wiped away from their 
eyes. O happy, a thousand times happy souls! 
Alas, that I must dwell m sinful flesh, when my 
brethren and companions dwell with God. ~ How 
far out of sight and reach of their high enjoyment 
do I here live. What poor, feeble thoughts have I 
of God; what cold affections towards him. How 
little have I of that life, that love, that joy in which 
they continually live. How soon doth that little 
depart, and leave me in thicker darkness. Now 
and then a spark falls upon my heart, and, while 
I gaze’ upon it, it dies, or rather, my cold heart 
quenches it. But they have their ‘light in his 
light,’ and drink continually at the spring of joy. 
Here we are vexing each other with quarrels, when 
they are of one heart and voice, and daily sound 
forth. the hallelujahs of heaven with perfect har- 
mony. O what a feast hath my faith beheld, and 
what a famine is yetin my spirit. O blessed souls, 
I may not, I dare not envy your happiness ; I rather 
rejoice in my brethren’s prosperity, and am glad to- 
think of the day when I shall be admitted into your 
Saints’ Rest, 24 


370 THE’ SAINTS’ REST. in 


fellowship. I wish not to displace you, but to be 
so happy as to be with you. Why must I stay and 
weep and wait? My Lord is gone; he hath left 
this earth, and is entered into his glory: my breth- 
ren are gone; my friends are there; my house, my 
hope, my all is there. When I am_so far distant 
from my God, wonder not what aileth me, if I now 
complain: an ignorant Mieah will’ do so for his 
idol, and shall not my soul do so for the living 
God? Had I no hope of enjoyment, I would go 
md hide myself in the deserts, and lie and howl in 
some obseure wilderness, and spend my days in 
fruitless wishes; but since it is the land of my 
promised rest, and the state | must myself be ad- 
vanced to, and my soul draws near, and is almost 
there, I will love and long, I will look and desire, 
{ will be breathing, ‘How long, Lord, how long 
wilt thou suffer this soul to pant and groan, and 
not open to him who waits and longs to be with 
thee?’”’. Thus, Christian reader, let thy thoughts 
aspire, till thy soul longs, as David, ‘‘O that one 
would give me to drink of the wells of salvation ;” 
and till thou canst say, as he did, “I have longed 
for thy salvation, O Lord.’ And as the mother 
and brethren of Christ, when they could not come 
at him because of the multitude, sent to him, way- 
ing, “Thy mother and brethren stand without, de- 
siring to see thee,” so let thy message to him be, 
and he will ownthee ; for he hath said, “‘ They that 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 371 


hear my word, and do it, are my mother and my 
brethren.” 

3. Another affection to be exercised in heavenly 
contemplation, is hope. This helps to support the 
soul under sufferings, animates it in the greatest 
difficulties, gives it firmness in the severest trials, 
enlivens it in duties, and is the very spring that 
sets all the wheels in motion. Who would believe 
or strive for heaven, if it were not for the hope he 
hath of obtaining it? Who would pray, but for 
the hope of prevailing with God? If your hope 
dies, your duties die, your endeavors die, your joys 
die, and your soul dies. And if your hope be not 
in exercise, but asleep, it is next to dead. There- 
fore, Christian reader, when thou art raising thy 
affections to heaven, forget not to give one hft to 
thy hope. Think thus, and reason thus with thy 
own heart : 

‘‘Why should I not confidently and comfortably 
hope, when my soul is in the hands of so compas- 
sionate a Saviour, and when the kingdom is at the 
disposal of so bountiful a God? Did he ever dis- 
cover the least backwardness to my good, or in- 
clination to my ruin? Hath he not sworn that 
‘he delights not in the death of him that dieth, but 
rather that he should’repent and live?’ Have not 
all his dealings witnessed the same? Did he not 
warn me of my danger when I never feared it, be- 
cause he would have me escape it? Did he not 


S72 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


tell me of my happiness when I had no thoughts of 
it, because he would have me enjoy it? How 
often hath he drawn me to himself and his Christ, 
when I have drawn backward. How hath his 
Spirit incessantly solicited my heart. And would 
he have done’ all this, if he had been willing that 
I should perish? Should I not hope, if an honest 
man had promised me something in his power? 
And shall I not hope, when | have the covenant 
and oath of God? It is true, the glory is out of 
sight; we have not beheld the mansions of the 
saints; but is not the promise of God more certain 
than our sight? We must not be saved by sight, 
but ‘by hope; and hope that is seen, is not hope ; 
for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with 
patience wait for it.’ I have been ashamed of my 
hope in an arm of flesh, but hope in the promise of 
God ‘maketh not ashamed.’ In my greatest suffer- 
ings I will say, ‘The Lord is my portion ; therefore 
will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them 
that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord; for the Lord 
will not cast off for ever; but though he cause 
grief, yet will he have compassion, according te the 
multitude of his mercies.’ Though I languish and 
die, yet will I hope; for ‘the righteous hath hope 
in his death.’ Though I must lie down in dust and 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 373 


darkness, yet there ‘my flesh shall rest in hope.’ 
And when my flesh hath nothing to rejoice in, yet 
will I ‘hold fast the rejoicing of the hope firm unte 
the end;’ for ‘the hope of the righteous shall be 
gladness.’ Indeed, if I must myself satisfy divine 
justice, then there had been’ no hope; but Christ 
hath ‘brought mm a better hope, by the which we 
draw nigh unto God.’ Or, if I had to do with a 
feeble creature, there were small hope; for how 
could he raise this body from the dust and lift me 
above the sun? But what is this to the almighty 
power which made the heavens and the earth out 
of nothing? Cannot that power which raised 
Christ from the dead raise me, and that which 
hath glorified the Head glorify also the members ? 
‘Doubtless, by the blood of his covenant, God will 
send forth his prisoners out of the pit wherein is no 
water ;’ therefore will I ‘turn to the strong hold, as 
a prisoner of hope.’ ”’ 

4. Couwrage,or boldness, is another affection to 
be exercised in heavenly contemplation ; it leads 
to resolution, and concludes in action. When you 
have raised your love, desire, and hope, go on, and 
think thus with yourself: ‘ Will God indeed dwell 
with men? And is there sucha glory within the 
reach of hope? Why then do I not lay hold upon 
it? Where is the cheerful vigor of my spirit? 
Why do I not ‘gird up the lois of my mind? 
Why do I not. set upon my enemies on every side, 


* ee 
Ce 
i 


374 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


and valiantly break through all resistance ? What 
should stop me or intimidate me? Is God with 
‘me or against me in the work? Will Christ stand 
by me, or will he not? ‘If God and Christ be for 
me, who can be against me?’ In the work of sin, 
almost all things are ready to help us, and only God 
and his servants are against us; yet how ill does 
that work prosper in-our hands. But, in my course 
to heaven, almost all things are against me, but 
God is for me; and therefore how happily does the _ 
work succeed. Do I enter upon this work in my 
own strength, or rather in the strength of Christ 
my Lord? And ‘cannot I do all things, through 
him that strengthens me?’ Was he ever foiled by 
an enemy? He has indeed been assaulted, but 
was he ever conquered? Why, then, does my 
flesh urge me with the difficulties of the work? 

Is any thing too hard for Omnipotence? May not 
Peter boldly walk on the sea, if Christ give the 
word of command? If he begin to sink, is it from 
the weakness of Christ, or from the smallness of 
his faith? Do I not well deserve to be turned into 
hell, if mortal threats can drive me thither? Do 

I not well deserve to be shut out of heaven, if I 
will be frightened from thence with the reproach 

of tongues? What if it were father, or mother, or 
husband, or wife, or the nearest friend 1 have in 
the world, if they may be called friends who would 
draw me to damnation, should I not forsake allthat - 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 3795 


would keep me from Christ ? _ Will their friendship 
countervail the enmity of God, or be any. comfort 
to my condemned soul? Shall I be yielding to the 
desires of men, and,only harden myself against the 
Lord? Let them beseech me upon their knees, I 
will scorn to stop my course to behold them, I will 
shut my ears to their cries: let them flatter or 


' frown, let them draw» out tongues and swords 
against me; I am resolved, in the strength of 
m Christ; to break through and look upon them as 


dust. If they would entice me with preferment, 
even with the kingdoms of the world, I will no 
* more regard them than the dung of the earth. O 
blessed rest; O glorious state! Who would sell 
thee for dreams and shadows? Who would be en- 
ticed or affrighted from thee? Who would not 
strive, and fight, dnd watch, and run, and that 
with violence, even to the last breath, in order to 
obtain thee? Surely none but those that know 
thee not, and believe not thy glory.” 

5. The last affection to be exercised in heavenly 
contemplation, is joy. Love, desire, hope, and 
courage all tend to raise our joy. This is so de- 
sirable to every man by nature, and so essentially 
necessary to constitute our happiness, that I hope I 
need not say much to persuade you to any thing 
that would make your life delightful. | Supposing 
you, therefore, already convinced that the pleasures 
of the flesh are brutish and perishing, that your 


°° 


gee | @ 


376 | THE SAINTS? REST. 
. 


t . . 3 


saint and lasting joy must. be from heaven, instead 
of persuading, I shall proceed in airecnig, Read- 
_er, if thou hast managed well.the former work, 


“© ethou Lart. got within sight of thy rest ; thou believest 


the ee ‘of it; thou art convinced. of its excel- 

lencies; thou hast fallen in love with, it thou 
longest sane it; thou hopest for it; and thou art 
resolved to a yas A courageously - for obtaining it. 
But is here any work for joy in this? .We delight 
in the good we possess; it is present good that is 
the object of joy; and thou wilt say, “ Alas, T am 
yet without.it.” But think a little further with 
thyself. Is.it nothing.to have a deed of gift from 
God? Are his infallible promises no ground of 
joy? Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of 
entering into the kingdom of God? Is not my 
assurance of being hereafter glorified a sufficient 
ground for inexpressible joy? Is it not a delight 
fo the heir of a kingdom to think of what he must 
soon possess, though at present he little differs from 
a servant? Have we not both command and 
example for “rejoicing in the hope of the glory of 
God ?” 

Here then, reader, take thy Ree once more and 
carry it to the top of the highest mount; show it 
the kingdom of Christ and the glory of it; and say 
to it, “All this will thy Lord give thee, who hast 
believed in him, and been a worshipper of him. 
‘It is the Father’s good pleasure to give thee this 


Wes 


a o's wae 1 m. pit 
oe" 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 377 


kingdom,’ Seest thou this astonishing glory which 
is above thee? All this is thine own inheritance. 
This crown is thine, these pleasures are thine—this 
company, this beautiful place, all are thine, because 
thou art Christ’s, and Christ is thine; when thou 
wast united to him, thou hadst all these with him.” 
Thus take thy heart into the land of promise ; show 
it the pleasant hills and fruitful valleys; show it 
the clusters of grapes which thou hast gathered, to 
eonvince it that it is. a blessed land, flowing with 
better than milk and honey. Enter the gates of 
the holy city, walk through the streets of the “New 
Jerusalem, walk about Zion, and go round about 
her; tell the towers thereof; mark well her bul- 
warks ; consider her palaces, that thou mayest tell 
it to” thy soul. Has it not ‘the glory of God,” 
and is not “her light like unto a stone most precious, 


even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal?” See 


the ‘*twelve foundations of her walls, and in them 
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 
The walls of it are of jasper; and the city is pure 
gold, like unto clear glass; and the foundations are 
garnished with all manner of precious stones; and 
the twelve gates are twelve pearls, every several 
gate is of one pearl, and the street of the city is pure 
gold, as it were transparent glass. There is no tem- 


_ple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb 


are the temple of it. It hath no need of the sun, 
neither of the moon in it, for the glory of God doth 


378 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; and 
the nations of them which are saved shall walk in 
the light of it. These sayings are faithfuland true; 
and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his an- 
- gels,” and his own Son, ‘‘to show unto his servants 
the things which must shortly be done.” Say now 
to all this, ‘“‘ This is thy rest, O my soul; and this 
must be the place of thy everlasting habitation.” 
Let all the sons of ‘‘ Zion rejoice; let the daughters 
of Jerusalem be glad; for great is the Lord, and 
greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the 
mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, 
the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, God is 
known in her palaces fora refuge.” = 
Yet proceed on: the soul that loves ascends 
quently, and runs familiarly through the streets of 
the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the patriarchs and 
prophets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the 


armies of martyrs; so do thou lead on thy heart as" 


from street to street ; bring it into the palace of the 
great King; lead it, as it were, from chamber to 
chamber, Say to it, ‘‘Here must I lodge; here 
must I live; here must I praise ; here must I love 
and be beloved. I must shortly be one of this 
heavenly choir, and be better skilled in the music. 
Among this blessed company must I take my place; 
my voice must join to make up the melody: My 
tears will then be wiped away; my groans be 
turned to another tune; my cottage of clay be 


oe 


- 
et 


> 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 379 


changed to this palace; my prison rags to these 
splendid robes; and my sordid flesh shall be put 


' off, and such a sunlike, spiritual body be put on; 


‘for the former things are here passed away.’ 
‘Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God!’ 
When I look upon this glorious place, what a dung- 
hill and dungeon methinks is earth. O what dif- 
ference between a man, feeble, pained, groaning, 
dying, rotting in the grave, and one of these tri- 
umphant, shining saints. Here shall I ‘drink of 
the river of pleasures, the streams whereof make 
glad the city of God.” Must Israel, under the 
‘bondage of the law, ‘serve the Lord with joyful- 
— and with gladness of heart, for the abundance 
of all things?’ Surely I shall serve him with joy- 
fulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of 
_glory. Did persecuted saints ‘take joyfully the 
spoiling of their goods?’ And shall not I take joy-— 
fully such a full reparation of all my losses? Was 
it a celebrated ‘day wherein the Jews rested from 
their enemies,’ because it ‘was turned unto them 
from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good 
day ?? What a day, then, will that be to my soul, 
whose rest and change will be inconceivably great- 
er! ‘When the wise men saw the star’ that led 
to Christ, ‘they rejoiced with exceeding great joy;’ 
but I shall shortly see him who is himself ‘the 
bright and morning Star.’ If the disciples ‘de- 
parted from the sepulchre with great joy,’ when 


380 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


they had but heard that their Lord ‘was risen from 
the dead,’ what will be my joy when I shall see 
him reigning in glory, and myself raised to a bless- 
ed communion with him? Then shall I indeed 
have ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
and the garment of praise for the spirit of heavi- 
ness, and Zion shall be made an eternal excellency, 
a joy of many generations.’ Why, then, do I not 
arise from the dust, and cease my complaints? 
Why do I not trample on vain delights, and feed 
on the foreseen delights of glory? Why is not my 
life a continual joy, and the savor of heaven per- 
petually upon my spirit ?” 

Let me here observe that there is no necessity to 
exercise these affections, either exactly in this order, 
or all at onetime. - Sorhetimes one of thy affections 
may need more exciting, or may be more lively 
than the rest; or, if thy time be short, one may be 
exercised one day and another the next; all which 
must be left to thy prudence to determine. Thou 
hast also an opportunity, if inclined to make use of 
it, to exercise opposite and more mixed affections, 
such as hatred of sin, which would deprive thy 
soul of these immortal joys; godly fear, lest thou 
shouldst abuse thy mercy ; godly shame and grief, 
for having abused it; unfeigned repentance; self- 
indignation ; jealousy over thy heart; and pity for 
those who are in danger of losing these immortal 
joys. 


7 


® HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 381 


Thirdly, we are also to take notice how heav- 
enly contemplation is promoted by so~iLoquy and 
PRAYER. Though consideration be the chief instru- 
ment in this work, yet-by itself it is not so likely 
to affect the heart. In this respect contemplation~ 


is lke preaching, where the mere explaining of 
truths and duties is seldom attended with such suc- 


cess as the lively application of them to the con- 


, science; and especially when a divine blessing is 


ad 


~ earnestly sought to accompany such application. 


1. By solaloquy, or a pleading the case with thy- 


| self, thou must in thy meditation quicken thy own 


4 heart. Enter into a serious debate with it. Plead 


* with it in the most moving and affecting language, 


and urge it with the most powerful and weighty 
arguments. Itis what holy men of God have prac- 
tised in all ages. Thus David, ‘‘ Why art thou cast 


down, O my soul; and why art thou disquieted 


within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet 
praise him who is the health of my countenance, 
and my God.” And again, “ Bless the Lord, O my 
soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 
benefits.’ This soliloquy is to be made use of 
according to the several affections of the soul, and 
according to its several necessities. It is a preach- 
ing to one’s self; for as every good master or father 
of a family is a good preacher to his own family, so 
every good Christian is a good preacher to his own 


382 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


soul. Therefore the very same method which a 
minister should use in his preaching to others, every 
Christian should endeavor after in speaking to him- 
self. Observe the matter and manner of the most 
‘heart-affecting minister; let him be as a pattern 
for your imitation, and the same way that he takes 
with the hearts of his people do thou also take 
with thy own heart. Do this in thy heavenly con- 
templation ; explain to thyself the things on which 
thou dost meditate ; confirm thy faith in them by 
Scripture, and then apply them to thyself, accord- 
ing to their nature and thy own necessity. There 
is no need to object against this from a sense of thy 
own inability. Doth not God command thee to 
‘‘teach the Scriptures diligently unto thy children, 
and talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, 
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou 
liest down, and when thou risest up?” And if 
thou must have some ability to teach thy children, 
much more to teach thyself; and if thou canst talk 
of divine things to others, why not also to thy own 
heart ? 

2. Heavenly contemplation is also piosiiatad by 
speaking to God in prayer, as well as by speaking 
to ourselves in soliloquy. Hjaculatory prayer may 
very properly be mixed with meditation as a part 
of the duty.. How often do we find David, in the 
same psalm, sometimes pleading with his soul and 
sometimes with pi i The apostle bids us ‘ speak 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 383 


to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs,” and no doubt we may also speak to God in 
them. This keeps the soul sensible of the divine 
presence, and tends greatly to quicken and raise it. 
As God is the highest object of our thoughts, so our 
viewing him, speaking to him, and pleading with 
him, more elevates the soul and excites the aflec- 
tions than any other part of meditation. Though 
we remain unaflected while we plead the case with 
ourselves, yet, when we turn our speech to God, it 
may strike us with awe; and the holiness and maj- 
esty of him whom we speak to, may-cause both the 
matter and words to pierce the deeper. When we 
read that ‘‘ Isaac went out to meditate in the field,” 
the margin says, ‘to pray,” for the Hebrew word 
signifies both. Thus, in our meditations, to inter- 
mix soliloquy and prayer, sometimes speaking to 
our own hearts and sometimes to God, is, I appre- 
hend, the highest step to which we can advance in 
this heavenly work. Nor should we imagine it 
will be as well to take up with prayer alone and 
lay aside meditation, for they are distinct duties, 
and must both of them be performed. We need 
one as well as the other, and therefore shall wrong - 
ourselves by neglecting either. Besides, the mix- 
ture of them, like music, will be more engaging, as 
the one serves to put life into the other. And our 
speaking to ourselves in meditation should go before 
our speaking to God in prayer. For want of attend- 


354 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


ing to this due order, men speak: to God with far 
less reverence and affection than they would speak 
to an angel if he should appear to them, or to a 
judge if they were speaking for their lives. Speak- 
ing to the God of heaven in prayer, is a weightier 
duty than most are aware of. 


“ 
“ 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 385 


CHAPTER XV. 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED BY SENSIBLE 
OBJECTS, AND GUARDED AGAINST A TREACHEROUS 
- HEART. 


It is difficult to maintain a lively impression of heavenly 
things: therefore, I. Heavenly contemplation may be as- 
sisted by sensible objects; 1. If we draw strong suppo- 
sitions from sense; and, 2. If we compare the objects of 
sense with the objects of faith., II. Heavenly contempla~- 
tion may also be guarded against a treacherous heart, by 
considering, 1. The great backwardness of the heart to 
this duty; 2. Its trifling in it; 3. Its wandering from it; 
and, 4. Its too abruptly putting an end to it. 


Tue most difficult part of heavenly contempla- 
tion is to maintain a lively sense of heavenly things 
upon our hearts. It is easier merely to think of 
heaven a whole day, than to be hvely and affec- 
tionate in those thoughts a quarter of an hour. 
Faith is imperfect, for we are renewed but in part, 
and goes against a world of resistance; and being 
supernatural, is prone to decline and languish, un- 
less it be continually excited. Sense is strong ac- 
cording to the strength of the flesh; and being 
natural, continues while nature continues. The 
objects of faith are far off, but those of sense are 
nigh. We must go as far as heaven for our joys. 
To rejoice in what we never saw, nor ever knew 

Saints’ Rest. 25 


386 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the man that did see, and this upon a mere promise 
of the Bible, is not so easy as to rejoice in what we 
see and possess. It must, therefore, be a point of 
spiritual prudence to call in sense to the assistance 
of faith. It will be a good work if we can make 
friends of these usual enemies, and make them 
instruments for raising us to God, which are so often. 
the means of drawing us fromhim. Why hath God 
given us either our senses or their common objects, 
if they might not be serviceable to his praise? 
Why doth the Holy Spirit describe the glory of the 
new Jerusalem in expressions that are even grate- 
ful to the flesh? Is it that we might think heaven 
to be made of gold and pearl; or that saints and 
angels eat and drink? No; but to help ug to con- 
ceive of them as we are able, and to use these bor- 
rowed phrases as a glass, in which we must see the 
things themselves imperfectly represented till we 
come to an imntediate”and perfect sight. Besides _ 
showing how heavenly contemplation may be as- 
sisted by sensible objects, this chapter will also 
show how it may be preserved from a wandering 
heart. | 

First, in order that heavenly contemplation may 
be ASSISTED BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS, let me only advise 
to draw suppositions from sense, and to compare the 
objects of sense with the objects of faith. 

1. For the helping of thy affections in heavenly 
contemplation, draw as strong suppositions as pos- 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 387 


sible from thy senses. Think on the joys above as 
boldly as Scripture hath expressed them. bring 
down thy conceptions to the reach of sense. Both 
Jove and joy are promoted by familiar acquaintance. 
When we attempt to think of God and glory with- 
out the Scripture’s manner of representing them, we 
are lost, and have nothing to fix our thoughts upon ; 
we set them so far from us that our thoughts are 
strange, and we are ready to say, what is above us 
is nothing to us. To conceive of God and glory 
only as above our conception, will beget but little 
love; or above our love, will produce little joy. 
‘Therefore put Christ no further from you than he 
hath put himself, lest the divine nature be again 
inaccessible. Think of Christ as in our own glori- 
fied nature. Think of glorified saints as men made 
perfect. Suppose thyself a companion with John 
in his survey of the new Jerusalem, and viewing 
the thrones, the majesty, the heavenly hosts, the 
shining splendor which he saw. Suppose thyself 
his fellow-traveller into the celestial kingdom, and 
that thou hadst seen all the saints in their white 
robes, with ‘palms in their hands,” and that thou 
hadst heard those ‘‘ songs of Moses and of the Lamb.” 
If thou hadst really seen and heard these things, in 
what a rapture wouldst thou have been. And the 
more seriously thou puttest this supposition to thy- 
self, the more will thy meditation elevate thy heart. 
Do not, like the Papists, draw them in pictures, but 


388 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


get the liveliest picture of them in thy mind that 
thou possibly canst, by contemplating the scripture 
account of them, till thou canst say, ‘“‘ Methinks I 
see a glimpse of glory. Methinks I hear the shouts 
of joy and praise, and even stand by Abraham and 
David, Peter and Paul, and other triumphant souls. 
Methinks I even see the Son of God appearing in 
the clouds, and the world standing at his bar to 
receive their doom, and hear him say, ‘Come, ye 
blessed of my Father ;’ and see them go rejoicing 
into the joy of their Lord. My very dreams of 
these things have sometimes greatly affected me ; 
and should not these just suppositions much more 
affect me? ‘What if I had seen, with Paul, those 
‘unutterable things?’ Or, with Stephen, had seen 
‘heaven opened, and Christ sitting at the right 
hand of God? Surely that one sight was worth 
his storm of stones. What if I had seen, as Micaiah 
did, ‘the Lord-sitting upon his throne, and all the 
host of heaven standing on his right hand and on 
his left?’ Such things did these men of God see ; 
and I shall shortly see far more than ever they 
saw, till they were loosed from the flesh as I must 
be.” Thus you see how it excites our affections in 
this heavenly work, if we make strong and familiar 
suppositions from our bodily senses concerning the 
state of blessedness, as the Spirit hath in conde- 
scending language expressed it. . 

2. The other way in which our senses may 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 389 


promote this heavenly work, is by comparing the 
objects of sense with the objects of faith. As for 
instance, you may strongly argue with your heart, 
from the corrupt delights of sensual men to the joys 
above. Think with thyself, “Is it such a delight 
to a sinner to do wickedly; and will it not be 
delightful indeed to live with God? Hath the 
drunkard such delight in his cups, that the fears of 
damnation will not make him forsake them? Will . 
the licentious man rather part with his credit, estate, 
and salvation, than with his brutish delights? If 
the way to hell can afford such pleasure, what then 
are the pleasures of the saints in heaven? If the 
covetous man hath so much pleasure in his wealth, 
and the ambitious man in places of power and titles 
of honor, what then have the saints in everlasting 
treasures, and in heavenly honors, where we shall 
be set above principalities and powers, and be made 
the glorious spouse of Christ? How delightfully 
do the voluptuous follow their recreations from 
morning till night, or sit at their cards and dice 
nightsand days together. O the delight we shall 
have, when we come to our rest, in beholding the 
face of the living God, and in singing forth praises 
unto him and the Lamb.” 

Compare also the delights above with the lawful 
and moderate delights of sense. Think with thy- 
self, “How sweet is food to my taste when I am 
hungry, especially if it be, as Isaac said, ‘such as I 


390 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


love,’ which my temperance and appetite incline 
to. What delight then must my soul have in feed- 
ing upon ‘Christ, the living bread,’ and in ‘eating 
with him at his table in his kingdom.’ Was a mess 
of pottage so sweet to Esau in his hunger, that he 
would buy it at so dear a rate as his birthright ? 
How highly then should I value this never-perish- 
ing food. How pleasant is drink in the extremity 
of thirst—scarcely to be expressed—enough to make 
the ‘strength of Sampson revive.’ _O how delight- 
ful will it be to my soul to drink of that ‘fountain 
of living water, which whoso drinketh shall thirst 
no more.’ How delightful are grateful odors to the 
smell, or music to the ear, or beautiful sights to the 
eye. What fragrance, then, hath ‘the precious oint- 
ment. which is poured on the head’ of our glorified 
Saviour, and which must be poured on the head of 
all his saints, and will fill all heaven with its odor. 
How delightful is the music ‘of the heavenly host.’ 
How pleasing will be those real beauties above. 
How glorious the ‘building not made with hands,’ 
the house that God himself dwells in, the walks 
and porecpe in ‘the city of God’ and the celestial 
paradise.” 

Compare also the delights above with those we 
find in natural knowledge. These are far beyond 
the delights of sense; but how much further are 
the delights of heaven. Think, then, “can an 
Archimedes be so taken up with his mathematical 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 391 


invention, that the threats of death cannot disen- 
gage him, but he will die in the midst of his con- 
templations? Should not I be much more taken 
up with the delights of glory, and die with these 
contemplations fresh upon my soul, especially when 
my death will perfect my delights, while those of 
Archimedes die with him? What exquisite pleas- 
ure is it to dive into the secrets of nature, and find 
out the mysteries of arts and sciences, especially if 
we make a new. discovery in any one of them. 
What high delights are there then in the know- 
ledge of God and Christ. If the face of human 
learning be so beautiful as to make sensual pleas- 
ures appear base and brutish, how beautiful then is 
the face of God. When we meet with some choice 
book, how could we read it day and night, almost 
forgetful of meat, drink, or sleep. What. delights 
are there then at God’s right hand, where we shall 
know in a moment all that is to be known.” 
Compare also the delights above with the delights 
of morality and of the natural affections. What 
delight had many sober heathen in the rules and 
practice of moral duty, so that they took him alone 
for an honest man who did well through the love 
of virtue, and not merely for fear of punishment ; 
yea, so much valued was this moral virtue, that 
they thought a man’s chief happiness consisted in 
it. Think, then, “What excellency will there be 
in our heavenly perfection, and in that uncreated 


392 THE SAINTS’ REST. ~ 


perfection of God which we shall behold. What 
sweetness is there in the exercise of natural love, 
whether to children, parents, yoke-fellows, or inti- 
mate friends. Does David say of Jonathan, ‘Thy 
love to me was wonderful, passing the love of 
women?’ Did the ‘soul of Jonathan cleave to 
David?’ Had Christ himself one ‘disciple whom 
he especially loved, and who was wont to lean on 
his breast?’ If then the delights of close and cor- 
dial friendship be so great, what delight shall we 
have in the friendship of the Most High, and in 
our mutual intimacy with Jesus Christ, and in the 
dearest love of the saints. Surely this will be a 
stricter friendship than these, more lovely and 
desirable friends than ever the sun beheld; and 
both our affections to our Father and Saviour, and 
especially theirs to us, will be such as we never 
knew here. If one angel could destroy a host, the 
affections of spirits must also be proportionably 
stronger, so that we shall then love a thousand 
times more ardently than we can now. As all the 
attributes and works of God are incomprehensible, 
so is this of love ; he will love us infinitely beyond 
our most perfect love to him. What then will 
there be in this mutual love '”’ 

Compare also the excellencies of heaven with 
those glorious works of creation which our eyes now 
behold. What wisdom, power, and goodness are 
manifested therein. How does the majesty of the 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 393 


Creator shine in this fabric of the world. “His 
works are great, sought out of all them that have 
pleasure therein.”’ What divine skill in forming the 
bodies of men or beasts. What excellency in every 
plant. What beauty in flowers. What variety and 
usefulness in herbs plants, fruits, and minerals. 
What wonders are contained in the earth and its 
inhabitants ; the ocean of waters, with its motions 
and dimensions; and the constant succession of 
spring and autumn, of summer and winter. Think, 
then, “If these things, which are but servants to 
sinful man, are so full of mysterious worth, what 
is that place where God himself dwells, and which 
is prepared for just men made perfect with Christ ? 
What glory is there in the least of yonder stars. 
What a vast resplendent body is yonder moon, and 
every planet. What an inconceivable glory has 
the sun. But all this is nothing to the glory of 
heaven. Yonder sun must there be laid aside as 
useless. Yonder sun is but darkness to the lustre 
of my Father’s house. I shall myself be as glori- 
ous as that sun. This whole earth is but my 
Father’s footstool. This thunder is nothing to his 
dreadful voice. These winds are nothing to the 
breath of his mouth. If the ‘sending rain, and 
making the sun to rise on the just and on the 
unjust’ be so wonderful, how much more won- 
derful and glorious will that Sun be which must 
shine on none but saints and angels?” 


394 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


Compare also the enjoyments above with the won- 
ders of Providence in the church and the world. 
Would it not be an astonishing sight to see ‘‘the sea 
stand as a wall on the right hand and on the left, 
and the dry land appear in the midst, and the peo- 
ple of Israel pass safely through, and Pharaoh and 
his host drowned ; or to have seen the ten plagues 
of Egypt; or the rock gushing forth streams; or 
manna and quails rained from heaven; or the 
earth opening and swallowing up the wicked? 
But we shall see far greater things than these; not 
only sights more wonderful, but more delightful ; 
there shall be no blood, nor wrath, intermingled ; 
nor shall we cry out, as the men of Beth-shemesh, 
‘Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God ?” 
How astonishing to see the sun stand still in the 
firmament, or “the dial of Ahaz go back ten 
degrees.” But we shall see when there shall be 
no sun; or rather, shall behold for ever a Sun of 
infinitely greater brightness. What a life should 
we have, if we could have drought or rain at our 
prayers; or have fire from heaven to destroy our 
enemies, as Elijah had; or raise the dead, as 
Elisha; or miraculously cure diseases, and. speak 
all languages, as the apostles. Alas, these are 
nothing to the wonders we shall see and -possess 
with God; and all of them wonders of goodness 
and love. We shall ourselves be the subjects of 
more wonderful mercies than any of these. Jonah 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 395 


was raised but from a three days’ burial in the belly 
of a fish, but we shall be raised from many years’ 
decay and dust ; and that dust exalted to the glory 
of the sun; and that glory perpetuated through 
eternity. Surely, if we observe but common provi- 
dences, as the motions of the sun, the tides of the 
sea, the standing of the earth, the watering it with 
rain as a garden, the keeping in order a wicked, 
confused -world, with many others, they are all 
admirable. But what are these to the Zion of God, 
the vision of the divine Majesty, and the order of 
the heavenly host ? ; 

Add to these those particular providences which 
thou hast thyself enjoyed and recorded through thy 
life, and compare them with the mercies thou shalt 
have above. Look over the mercies of thy youth 
and riper age, of thy prosperity and adversity, of 
thy several places and relations; are they not ex- 
cellent and innumerable, rich and engaging? How 
sweet was it to thee when God resolved thy doubts, 
scattered thy fears, prevented the inconveniences 
into which thy own counsel would have cast thee, 
eased thy pains, healed thy sickness, and raised 
thee up, as from death and the grave. Think, 
then, ‘“‘Are all these so sweet and precious, that 
without them my life would have been a perpetual 
misery? Hath his providence on earth lifted me 
so high, ‘and his gentleness made me so great?’ 
How sweet, then, will his glorious presence be. 


396 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


How high will his eternal love exalt me. And 
how great shall I be made in communion with his 
greatness. If my pilgrimage and warfare have 
such mercies, what shall I find in my home and in 
my triumph; If God communicates so much to 
me while I remain a sinner, what will he bestow 
when I am a perfected saint? If I have had so 
much at such a distance from him, what shall I 
have in his immediate presence, where I shall ever 
stand before his throne ?”’ “a 
Compare the joys above with the comforts thou 
hast here received in ordinances, Has not the 
Bible been to thee as an open fountain, flowing 
with comforts day and night? What suitable 
promises have come into thy mind; so that, with 
David, thou mayest say, “Unless thy law had 
been my delight, I should then have perished in 
mine affliction.” Think, then, ‘‘If his word be so 
full of consolation, what overflowing springs shall 
we find in God himself? If his letters are so corm- 
‘fortable, what will’the glory of his presence be? 
If the promise is so sweet, what will the perform- 
ance be? If the testament of our Lord and our 
charter for the kingdom be so comfortable, what 
will be our possession of the kingdom itself?” 
Think further, ‘‘ What delights have I also fotind 
in the word preached. When I have’sat under a 
heavenly, heart-searching teacher, how has my 
heart been warmed. Methinks I have felt myself 


" CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 397 


almost in heaven. - How often have I gone to the 
congregation troubled in spirit, and returned joyful. 
How often have I gone doubting, and God hath sent 
me home persuaded of his love in Christ. What 
cordials have I met with to animate me in every 
conflict. If the face of Moses shine so gloriously, 
what glory is there in the face of God. If ‘the 
feet of them that publish peace, that bring good 
tidings of salvation, be beautiful,’ how beautiful is 
the face of the Prince of peace. If this treasure 
be so precious in earthen vessels, what is that 
treasure laid up in heaven. Blessed are the eyes 
that see what is-seen there, and the ears that hear 
the things that are heard there. There shall I 
hear Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John,. Peter, Paul— 
not preaching to gainsayers, in imprisonment, per- 
secution, and reproach, but triumphing in the 
praises of Him who hath raised them to honor and 
glory.” 

Think also, ‘‘ What joy is it to have access and 
acceptance in prayer; that I may always go to 
God, and open my case and unbosom my soul to 
him, as to my most faithful friend. But it will be 
a more unspeakable joy, when I shall receive all 
blessings without asking, and all my necessities and 
miseries will be removed, and when God himself 
will be the portion and inheritance of my soul.” 

As for the Lord’s supper, ‘‘ What a privilege is it 
to be admitted to sit at his table, to have his cove- 


398 THE SAINTS? REST. 


v 


nant sealed to me there. But all the life and 
comfort there is to assure me of the comforts here- 
after. O the difference between the last supper of 
Christ on earth, and the marriage supper of the 
Lamb at the great day. Then his room will be the 
glorious heavens; his attendants all the hosts of 
angels and saints: no Judas, no unfurnished guest 
comes’ there; but the humble believers must sit 
down by him, and their feast will be their mutual 
loving and rejoicing.” 7 

Concerning the communion of saints, think with 
thyself, ‘What a pleasure is it to live with intelli- 
gent and heavenly Christians. David says of such, 
they were ‘all his delight.’ O what a delightful 
society, then, shall I have above! Had I but seen 
Job on the dunghill, what a mirror of patience ; 
and what will it be to see him in glory? How de- 
lghtful to have heard Paul and Silas singing in the 
stocks ; how much more to hear them sing praises 
in heaven. What melody did David make on his 
harp; but how much more melodious to hear that 
sweet singer in the heavenly choir. What would 
I have given for an hour’s free converse with Paul, 
when he was just come down from the third heav- 
en. But I must shortly see those things myself, and 
possess what I see.” 

Once more, think of praising God in concert with 
his saints: ‘‘What if I had been in the place of 
those shepherds who saw and heard the heavenly 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 399 


host singing, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good. will towards men! But I shall 
see and hear more glorious things. How blessed 
should I have thought myself, had I heard Christ 
in his thanksgivings to his Father ; how much more 
when I shall hear him pronounce me blessed. If 
there was such joy at bringing back the ark, or at 
rebuilding the temple, what will there be in the 
new Jerusalem? If the earth rent. when the peo- 
ple rejoiced at Solomon’s coronation, what a joyful 
shout will there be at the appearing of the King of 
the church. If; ‘ when the foundations of the earth 
were laid, the morning stars sang together, and all 
the sons of God shouted for joy,’ what a joyful song 
will there be when the world of glory is both 
founded and finished, when the top-stone is laid, 
and when ‘the holy city is adorned as the bride, the . 
Lamb’s wife!” 

Compare the joys thou shalt have in heaven with 
what the saints have found in the way to it, and 
in the foretastes of it. When did God ever reveal 
the least of himself to any of his saints, but the joy 
of their hearts corresponded to the revelation? In 
what an ecstasy was Peter on the mount of trans- 


figuration. . ‘‘ Master,” says he, ‘it is good: for us 
to be here: let us make three tabernacles; one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” Asif 


he had said, ‘O let us not go down again to yonder 
persecuting rabble; let us not return to our mean 


~ 
400 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


4 


and suffering state. Is it not better to stay here, 
now we are here? Is not here better company and 
sweeter pleasure?” How was Paul lifted up with 
what he saw. How did the face of Moses shine 
when he had been talking with God. These were 
all extraordinary foretastes; but little to the full 
beatific vision. How often have we read and heard 
of dying saints who have been full of joy ; and when 
their bodies have felt the extremity of sickness and 
pain, have had so much of heaven in their spirits” 
that their joy has far exceeded their sorrows. If a 
spark of this fire be so glorious even amidst the sea 
of adversity, what then is glory itself? O the joy 
that the martyrs have felt in the flames. They 
were flesh and blood, as well as we; it must there- 
fore be some excellent thing that filled their spirits 
with joy while their bodies were burning. Think, 
reader, in thy meditations, ‘Sure it must be some 
wonderful foretaste of glory that made the flames 
of fire easy, and the king of terrors welcome. What 
then is glory itself? What a blessed rest, when the 
thoughts of it made Paul desire to depart and be with 
Christ; and make the saints never think themselves 
well till they are dead. Shall Saunders embrace 
the stake, and cry, ‘Welcome, cross!’ and shall I 
not more delightfully embrace my blessedness, and 
cry, ‘Welcome, crown?’ Shall Bradford kiss the 
fagot, and shall I not kiss the Saviour? Shall an- 
other poor martyr rejoice to have her foot in the 


» : 
CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 401 


same hole of the stocks in which Mr. Philpot’s had 
been before her; and shall not I rejoice that my 
soul shall live in the same place of glory where 
Christ and his apostles are gone before me? Shall 
fire and fagot, prisons and banishment, cruel mock- 
ings and scourgings, be more welcome, to others 
than Christ and glory to me? God forbid.” 

' Compare the glory of the heavenly kingdom with 
the glory of the church on earth, and of Christ in 
his state of humiliation.. If-Christ’s suffering in 
the room of sinners had such excellency, what is 
Christ at his Father’s right hand? If the church, 
under her sins and enemies have so much beauty, 
what will she have at the marriage of the Lamb? 
How wonderful was the Son of God in the form of 
a servant. When he is born, a new star must ap- 
pear, and conduct the strangers to worship him in 
a manger, heavenly hosts with their songs must 
celebrate his nativity ; while a child, he must dis- 
pute with doctors; when he enters upon his office, 
he turfs water into wine, feeds thousands with a 
few loaves and fishes, cleanses the lepers, heals the 
sick, restores the lame, gives sight to the-blind, and 
raises the dead. How wonderful, then, is his celes- 
tial glory. Ifthere be such cutting down of boughs, 
and spreading of garments, and crying Hosanna, for 
one that comes into Jerusalem riding on an ass, 
what will there be when he comes with his angels 
in his glory? If they that heard him “ preach the 

Saints’ Rest. 26 


402 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


gospel of the kingdom”’ confess, ‘‘ Never man spake 
like this man,” they that then behold his majesty 
in his kingdom will say, “‘ There. was never glory 
like this glory.” If, when his enemies came to 
apprehend him, they fell to the ground—if, when 
he is dying, the earth quakes, the veil of the temple 
is rent, the sun is eclipsed, the dead bodies of the 
saints arise, and the standers-by acknowledge, ‘“ Tru- 
ly this was the Son of God” —O what a day will it 
be when the dead must all arise and stand. before 
him; when he “‘ will once shake, not the earth only, 
but the heavens also;” when this sun shall be 
taken out.of the firmament, and be everlastingly 
darkened with his glory; and when every tongue 
shall confess him to be the Lord and King! If, 
when he rose again, death and the grave lost their 
power ; if angels must ‘‘roll away the stone,” ter- 
rify the keepers till they are “as dead men,” and 
send the tidings to his disciples; if he ascend to 
heaven in their sight, of what power, dominion, 
and glory is he now possessed, and which we must 
for ever possess with him! When he is gone, can 
a few poor fishermen and tent-makers cure the 
lame, blind, and sick, open prisons, destroy the 
disobedient, raise the dead, and astonish their ad- 
versaries? what a world will that be where every 
one can do greater works than these. If the preach- 
ing of the gospel be accompanied with such power 
as to discover the secrets of the heart, humble the 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 403 


proud sinner, and make the most obdurate tremble ; 
if it can make men burn their books, sell their lands, 
and bring in the price and lay it down at the preach- 
er’s feet; if it can convert thousands, and turn the 
world upside down; if its doctrine, from the pris- 
oner at the bar, can make the judge on the bench 
tremble ; if Christ and his saints have this power 
and honor in the day of their abasement, and in 
the time appointed for their suffering and disgrace, 
what then will they have in their absolute do- 
minion and full advancement in their kingdom of 
glory ? 

Compare the glorious change thou shalt have at 
last, with the gracious change which the Spirit 
hath here wrought on thy heart. There is not the 
smallest sincere grace in thee, but is of greater 
worth than the riches of the Indies; not a hearty 
desire after Christ, but is more to be valued than 
the kingdoms of the world. A renewed nature is 
the very image of God ; Christ dwelling in us, and 
the Spirit of God abiding in us; it is a beam from 
the face of God ; the seed of God remaining in us ; 
the only inherent beauty of the rational soul: it 
ennobles man above all nobility ; fits him to under- 
stand his Maker’s pleasure, do his will, and receive 
his glory. If this grain of mustard-seed be so pre- 
cious, what is ‘the tree of life in the midst of the 
paradise of God.” If a spark of life, which will 
but strive against corruptions, and flame out a few 


404 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


desires and groans, be of so much worth, how glo- 
rious, then, is the fountain of this life. If we are 
said to be like God when we are pressed down with 
a body of sin, surely we shall be much more like 
God when we have no such thing as sin within us. 
Is the desire after, and love of heaven so excellent, 
what then is the thing itself? Is our joy in fore- 
seeing and believing so sweet; what will be the 
joy of full possession? How glad is a Christian 
when-he feels his heart begin to melt and be dis- 
solved with the thoughts of sinful unkindness. 
Even this sorrow yields him joy. O what then 
will it be when we shall know and love and re- 
joice and praise in the highest perfection? Think 
with thyself, “What a change was it to be taken 
from that state wherein I was born, and in which 
I was riveted by custom, when thousands of sins 
lay against me; and if I had so died, I had been 
damned for ever. What an astonishing change, to 
be justified from all these enormous crimes, and 
freed from all these fearful plagues, and made an 
heir of heaven. - How often, when I have thought 
of my regeneration, have I cried out, O blessed day, 
and blessed be the Lord that ever I saw it!’ How, 
then, shall I cry out in heaven, O blessed eternity, 
and blessed be the Lord that brought me tv it. 
Did the angels of God rejoice to see my conversion ? 
surely they will congratulate my felicity in my 
salvation. Grace is but a spark raked up in the 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 405 


* ashes, covered with flesh from the sight of the world, 
and sometimes. covered with corruption from my 
own sight; but my everlasting glory will not be so 
clouded, nor my light be ‘under a bushel, but 
upon a hill,’ even upon mount Zion, the mount of 
God.” . 

Once more, compare the joys which thou shalt 

have above, with those foretastes of it which the 

Spirit hath given thee here. Hath not God some- 

times revealed himself extraordinarily to thy soul, 

and let a drop of glory fall upon it? Hast thou 
not been ready to say, “O that it might be thus 
with my soul continually?” Didst thou never ery 
out with the martyr, after thy long and mournful 
expectations, ‘“‘He is come, he is come?” Didst 
thou never, under a lively sermon of heaven, or in 
thy retired contemplations on that blessed state, 
perceive thy drooping spirits revive, and thy deject- 
ed heart lift up thy head, and the light of heaven 
dawn on thy soul? Think with thyself, “What 
is this earnest to the full inheritance? Alas, all 
this light, that so amazeth and rejoiceth me, is but 
a candle lighted from heaven to lead me thither 
through this world of darkness. If some godly 
men have been overwhelmed with joy till they 
have cried out, ‘Hold, Lord, stay thy hand; I can 
bear no more!’ what then will be my joys in heav- 
en, when my soul shall be so capable of seeing and 
enjoying God, that though the light be ten thou- 


406 THE SAINTS’? REST. 


sand times greater than the sun, yet my eyes shall 
be able for ever to behold it?” Or, if thou hast 
not yet felt these sweet foretastes—for every be- 
liever hath not felt them—then make use of such 
delights as thou hast felt, in order the better to 
discern what thou shalt hereafter feel. 

Secondly, 1 am now to show how heavenly con- 
templation may be. PRESERVED FROM A WANDERING 
HEART. Our chief ‘work here is to discover the 
danger, and that will direct to the fittest remedy. 
The heart will prove the greatest hinderance in this 
heavenly employment, either by backwardness to it 
or by trifling in it, or by frequent excursions to other 
objects, or by abruptly ending the work before it is 
well begun. As you value the comfort of this work, 
these dangerous evils must be faithfully resisted. 

1. Thou wilt find thy heart as backward to this, 
I think, as to any work in the world. O what ex- 
cuses will it make ; what evasions will it find out ; 
what delays and demurs, when it is ever so much 
convinced. Hither it will question whether it. be 
a duty or not; or if it be so to others, whether to 
thyself. It will tell thee, ““This is a work for 
ministers that have nothing else to study, or for 
persons that have more leisure than thow hast.” 
If thou be a minister, it will tell thee, ‘“‘ This is-the 
duty of the people ; it is enough for thee to medi- 
tate for their instruction, and let them meditate on 
what they have heard.” As if it was thy duty 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 407 


only to cook their meat and serve it up, and they~ 
alone must eat it, digest it, and live upon it. If 
all this will not do, thy heart will tell thee of other 
business, or set thee upon some other duty; for it 
had rather go to any duty than this. Perhaps it 
will tell thee, “‘ Other duties are greater, and there- 
fore this must give place to them, because thou 
hast no time for both. Public business is more 
important ; to study and preach for the saving of 
souls must be preferred before these private con- 
templations.” As if thou hadst not time to care 
for thy own salvation, for looking after that of 
others ; or thy charity to others were so great, that 
it obliges thee to neglect thy own eternal welfare ; 
or as if there was any better way to fit us to be 
useful to others, than making this proof of our doc- 
trine ourselves. Certainly heaven is the best fire 
to light our candle at, and the best book for a 
preacher to study; and if we would be persuaded 
to study that more, the church would be provided 
with more heavenly lights; and when out studies 
are divine and our spirits divine, our preaching will 
also be divine, and we may be called divines in- 
deed. Or, if thy heart have nothing to say against 
the work, it will trifle away the time in delays, 
and promise this day and the next, but still keep 
off from the business. Orit will give thee a flat 
denial, and oppose its own unwillingness to thy 
reason. All this I speak of the heart, so far as it 


408 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


is still carnal; for I know, so far as it is spiritual, 
it will judge this the sweetest work in the world. 
What is now to be done? Wilt thou do it if I 
tell thee? Wouldst thou not say in a like case, 
“What should I do with a servant that will not 
work, or with a horse that will not travel? Shall 
I keep them to look at?” Then faithfully deal 
thus-with thy heart ; persuade it to the work, take 
no denial, chide it for its backwardness, use vio- 
lence with it. Hast thou no command of thy own 
thoughts? Is not the subject of thy meditations a 
matter of choice, especially under the guidance of 
thy judgment? Surely God gave thee, with thy 
new nature, some power to govern thy thoughts. 
Art thou again become a slave to thy depraved 
nature? Resume. thy authority. Call in the 
Spirit of Christ to thine assistance, who is never 
backward to so good a work, nor will deny his help 
in so just a cause. Say to him, “Lord; thou gavest 
my reason the command of my thoughts and affec- 
tions; the authority I have received over them is 
from thee; and now, behold, they refuse to obey 
thine authority. Thou commandest. me to set 
them to the work of heavenly meditation ; but they 
rebel and stubbornly refuse the duty. Wilt thou 
not assist me to exercise that authority which thou 
hast given me? O- send down thy Spirit, that I 
may enforce thy commands, and effectually compel 
them to obey thy will.” Thus thou shalt see thy 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 409 


heart will submit, its resistance be overcome, and 
its backwardness be turned into cheerful com- 
pliance. 

2. Thy heart will also be likely to betray thee by 
trifling, when it should be effectually meditating. 


- Perhaps, when thou hast an hour for meditation, the 


time will be spent before thy heart will be serious. 
This doing of duty as if we did it not, ruins as 
many as the omission of it. Here let thine eye be 
always upon thy heart. Look not so much to the 
time it spends in the duty, as to the quantity and 
quality of the work that is done. You can tell by 
his work whether a servant has been diligent. 
Ask yourself, ‘‘What affections have yet been exer- 
cised? How much nearer am I to heaven?” 
Think not, since thy heart is so trifling, it is better 
to let it alone; for by this means thou wilt cer- 
tainly banish all spiritual obedience ; because the 
best hearts, being but sanctified in part, will resist 
so far as they are carnal. But rather consider well 
the corruptions of thy nature, and that its sinful 
indispositions will not supersede the commands of 
God, nor one sin excuse another; and that God 
has appointed means to excite our affections. This 
self-reasoning, self-considering duty of heavenly med- 
itation, is the most effective means both to excite 
and increase love. Therefore neglect not the duty 
till thou feelest thy love constrain thee, any more 
than thou wouldst stay from the fire till thou feel- 


410° THE SAINTS? REST. 


est thyself warm ; but engage in the work till love 
is excited, and then love will constrain thee to fur- 
ther duty. 

3. Thy heart will also be making excwrsions 
from thy heavenly meditation to other objects. It 
will be turning aside, like a careless servant, to talk 
with every one that passes by. When there should 
be nothing in-thy mind but heaven, it will be think- 
ing of thy calling, or thy afflictions, or of every bird, 
or tree, or place thou seest. The cure is here the 
same as before: use watchfulness and violence. 
Say to thy heart, “‘ What, did I come hither to think 
of my worldly business, of persons, places, news, or 
vanity, or of any thing but heaven, be it ever so 
good? ‘Canst thou not watch one hour?’ Wouldst 
thou leave this world and dwell for ever with Christ 
in heaven, and not leave it one hour to dwell with 
Christ in meditation? ‘Is this thy love to thy 
friend?’ Dost thou love Christ and the place of thy 
eternal blessed abode no more than this?” If the 
ravening fowls of wandering thoughts devour the 
meditations intended for heaven, they devour the 
life and joy of thy thoughts; therefore drive them 
away from thy sacrifice, and strictly keep thy heart 
to the work. 

4. Abruptly ending thy meditation before it is 
well begun, is another way in which thy heart will 
deceive thee. Thou mayest easily perceive this in 
other duties. In secret prayer, is not thy heart 


CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED. 411 


urging thee to cut it short, and frequently making 
a motion to have done? So in heavenly contem- 
plation, thy heart will be weary of the work, and 
will stop thy heavenly walk before thou art well 
warm. But charge it in the name of God to stay, 
-and not do so great a work by halves. Say to 
it, “Foolish heart, if thou beg a while, and goest 
away before thou hast thine alms, is not thy begging 
alost labor? If thou stoppest before the end of thy 
journey, is not thy travel lost? Thou camest hither 
in hope to have a sight of the glory which thou must 
inherit ; and wilt thou stop when thou art almost 
at the top of the hill, and turn back before thou 
hast taken thy survey? Thou camest hither in 
hope to speak with God; and wilt thou go before 
thou hast seen him? Thou camest to bathe thyself 
in the streams of consolation, and to that end didst 
unclothe thyself of thy earthly thoughts; and wilt 
thou only touch the bank and return? Thou 
camest to ‘spy out the land of promise ;’ go not 
back without ‘one cluster of grapes to show thy 
brethren’ for their encouragement. Let them see 
that thou hast tasted of the wine by the gladness 
of thy heart; and that thou hast been anointed 
with the oil, by the cheerfulness of thy counte- 
nance ; and hast fed of the milk and honey, by the 
mildness of thy disposition and the sweetness of thy 
conversation. This heavenly fire would melt thy 
frozen heart, and refine and spiritualize it; but it 


412 THE SAINTS’? REST. 


must have time to operate.” Thus pursue the work 
till something be done, till thy graces be in exer- 
cise, thy affections raised, and thy soul refreshed 
with the delights above ; or if thou canst not attain 
these ends at once, be the more earnest at another 
time. ‘Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, 
when he cometh, shall find so doing.” 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 413 


CHAPTER XVI. 


HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION . EXEMPLIFIED, AND 
THE WHOLE WORK CONCLUDED. 


The reader’s attention excited to the following example of 
meditation: 1. The excellencies of heavenly rest; 2. lts 
nearness; 3. Dreadful to sinners; 4. And joyful to saints ; 
5. Its dear purchase; 6. Its difference from earth; 7. The 
heart pleaded with; 8. Unbelief banished; 9. A careless 
world pitied; 10. Heavenly rest the object of love; 11. And 
joy; 12. The heart’s backwardness to heavenly joy lament- 
ed; 13. Heavenly rest the object of desire. 


AND now, reader, according to the above direc- 
tions, make conscience of daily exercising thy 
graces in meditation as well as prayer. Retire into 
some secret place at a time the most convenient to 
thyself, and laying aside all worldly thoughts, with 
all possible seriousness and reverence look up tow- 
ards heaven; remember there is thine everlasting 
rest; study its excellency and. reality; and rise 
from sense to faith by comparing heavenly with 
earthly joys. Then mix ejaculations with thy 
soliloquies, till, having pleaded the case reverently 
with God and seriously with thy own heart, thou 
hast pleaded thyself from a clod to a flame; from 
a forgetful sinner and a lover of the world, to an 
ardent lover of God; from a fearful coward to a 
resolved Christian ; from an unfruitful sadness to a 


414 y THE SAINTS’ REST. 


joyful life: in a word, till thou hast pleaded thy 
heart from earth to heaven ; ‘from conversing below 
to walking with God; and till thou canst lay thy 
heart to rest, as in the bosom of Christ, by some 
such meditation of thy everlasting rest as is here 
added for thy assistance. 

1. “Rest! How sweet the sound. It is melody 
to my ears. It lies as a reviving cordial to my 
heart, and from thence sends forth lively spirits, 
which beat through all the pulses of my soul. © 
Rest! not as the stone that rests on the earth, nor 
as this flesh shall rest in the grave, nor such a rest 
as the carnal world desires. O blessed rest, when 
we ‘rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God Almighty ! when we shall rest from sin, 
but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, 
but not from joy. O blessed day, when I shall rest 
with God; when I shall rest in the bosom of my 
Lord; when I shall rest in knowing, loving, re- 
joicing, and praising ; when my perfect soul and 
body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect 
God; when God, who is love itself, shall perfectly 
love me, and rest in his love to me, as I shall rest 
in my love to him; and rejoice over me with joy, 
and joy over me with singing, as I shall rejoice in 
him. 
2. “How near is that most blessed, joyful day. 
It comes apace. ‘He that shall come, will come, 
and will not tarry.’ Though my Lord seems to 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIEDY 416 


- delay his coming, yet a little while and he will be 
here. What is a few hundred years when they are 
over? How surely will his sign appear. How 
suddenly will he seize upon the careless world, even 
‘as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth 
unto the west.’ He who is gone hence shall so 
come. Methinks I hear his trumpet sound. Me- 
thinks I see him coming in clouds, with his attend- 
ing angels, in majesty and glory. 

3. “O, secure sinners, what now will you do; 
where will you hide yourselves ; what shall cover 
you? Mountains are gone; the heavens and the 
earth, which were, are passed away; the devouring 
fire hath consumed all, except yourselves, who must 
be the fuel forever. O that you could consume as 
soon as the earth, and melt away as did the heav- 
ens. Ah, these wishes are now but vain. The 
Lamb himself would have been your friend; he 
would have loved you and ruled you, and now have 
saved you; but you would not then, and now it is 
too late. Cry not, ‘Lord, Lord! it is too late, too 
late. Why dost thou look about; can any save 
thee? Whither dost thou run; can any hide thee? 
O wretch, that hast brought thyself to this. 

4. ** Now, blessed saints, that have believed and 
obeyed, this is the end of faith and patience. This 
is it for which you prayed and waited. Do you new 
repent your sufferings and sorrows, your self-denial 
and holy walking? Are your tears of repentance 


416 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


now bitter or sweet? See how the Judge smiles 
upon you; there is love in his looks; the titles of 
Redeemer, Husband, Head, are written in his ami- 
able, shining face. Hark, he calls you; he bids 
you stand here on his right hand; fear not, for there 
he sets his sheep. O joyful sentence, ‘Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world.’ He takes 
you by the hand, the door is open, the kingdom is 
his, and therefore yours; there is your place before 
his throne. The Father receives you as the spouse 
of his Son, and bids you welcome to the crown of 
glory. Ever so unworthy, you must be crowned. 
This was the project of free redeeming grace, the 
purpose of eternal love. O blessed grace; O 
blessed love. O how love and joy will rise. But 
I cannot express it, I cannot conceive it. 

5. “This is that joy which was procured by sor- 
vow, that crown which was procured by the cross. 
My Lord wept, that now my tears might be wiped 
away; he bled, that I might now rejoice; he was 
forsaken, that I might not now be forsaken; he 
then died, that I might now live. O free mercy, 
that can exalt so vile a wretch. Free to me, though 
dear to Christ. Free grace, that hath chosen me 
when thousands were forsaken. When my com- 
panions in sin must burn in hell, I must here rejoice 
in rest. Here must I live with all these saints. O 
comfortable meeting of my old acquaintance, with 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. ALT. 


whom I prayed and wept and suffered, and spoke 
often of this day and place. I see the grave could 
not detain you; the same love hath redeemed and 
saved you also. 

6. “This 2s not like our cottages of clay, our 
prisons, our earthly dwellings. This voice of joy is 
not like our old complaints, our impatient groans 
and sighs; nor this melodious praise like the scofls 
and revilings, or the oaths and curses which we 
heard on earth. This body is not like that we had, 
nor this soul like the soul we had, nor this life like 
the life we lived. We have changed our place and 
state, our clothes and thoughts, our looks, language, 
-and company. Before, a saint was weak and 
despised—so proud and peevish, we could often 
scarce discern his graces ; but now, how glorious is 
a saint. Where is now their body of sin which 
wearied themselves and those about them? Where 
are now our different judgments, reproachful names, 
divided spirits, exasperated passions, strange looks, 
uncharitable censures? Now we are all of one 
judgment, of one name, of one heart, house, and 
glory. Osweet reconciliation. Happy union. Now 
the gospel shall no more be dishonored through our 
folly. No more, my soul, shalt thou lament the 
sufferings of the saints or the church’s ruins; nor 
mourn thy suffering friends, nor weep over their 
dying beds or their graves. Thou shalt never suf- 
fer thy old temptations from Satan, the world, or 

Saints’ Rest. 27 


418 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


thy own flesh. Thy pains and sickness are all 
cured ; thy body shall no more burden thee with 
weakness and weariness; thy aching head and 
heart, thy hunger and thirst, thy sleep and labor 
are all gone. O what a mighty change is this, 
from the dunghill to the throne ; from persecuting 
sinners to praising saints; from a vile body to this 
which ‘shines as the brightness of the firmament ;’ 
from a sense of God’s displeasure to the perfect 
enjoyment of him in love; from all my doubts 
and fears to this possession which puts me out of 
doubt ; from all my fearful thoughts of death to 
this joyful life. Blessed change! Farewell sin and 


sorrow for ever; farewell my rocky, proud, unbe- — 


lieving heart—my worldly, sensual, carnal heart ; 
and welcome now my most holy, heavenly nature. 


Farewell repentance, faith, and hope; and welcome ~ 


love and joy and praise. 1 shall now have my har- 
vest without ploughing or sowing, my joy without 
a preacher or a promise ; even all from the face of 
God himself. Whatever mixture is in the streams, 
there is nothing but pure joy in the fountain. Here 
shall I be encircled with eternity, and ever live, and 
ever, ever praise the Lord ; my face will not wrin- 


kle, nor my hair be gray; ‘for this corruptible shall > 


have put on incorruption, and this mortal, immor- 
tality ; and death shall be swallowed up in victory. 
O death, where is now thy sting? O grave, where 
is thy victory ?° The date of my lease will no more 


et} 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 419 


expire, nor shall I trouble myself with thoughts of 
death, nor lose my joys through fear of losing them. 
When millions of ages are passed, my glory is but 
beginning ; and when millions more are passed, it 
is no nearer ending. Every day is all noon, every 
month is harvest, every year is a jubilee, every age 
is full manhood ; and all this is one eternity. O 
blessed eternity, the glory of my glory, the perfec- 
tion of my perfection ! 

7. “Ah, drowsy, earthly heart, how coldly dost 
thou think of this reviving day. Hadst thou rather 
sit down in dirt than walk in the palace of God? 
Art thou now remembering thy worldly business, 
or thinking of thy lusts, earthly delights, and merry 
company? Is it better to be here, than above with 
God? Is the company better? Are the pleasures 
greater? Come away; make no excuse nor delay ; 


-. God commands and I command thee ; gird up thy 


loins; ascend the mount; look about thee with 
faith and seriousness. Look not back upon the way 
of the wilderness, except it be to compare the king- 
dom with that howling desert, more sensibly to per- 
ceive the wide difference. Yonder is thy Father's 
glory ; yonder, O my soul, must thou remove when 
thou departest from this body; and when the power 
of thy Lord hath raised it again and joined thee to 
it, yonder must thou live with God for ever. There | 
is the glorious new Jerusalem, the gates of pearl, 
the foundation of pearl, the streets and pavements 


420 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


of transparent gold. That sun which lighteth all 
this world will be useless there; even thyself shall 
be as bright as yonder shining sun ; God will be the 
sun and Christ the light, and in his light shalt thou 
have light. 

8. “‘O my soul, dost thou ‘stagger at the prom- 
ises of God through wnbelief?’ I much suspect 
thee. Didst thou believe indeed, thou wouldst be 
more affected with it. Is it mot under the hand 
and seal and oath of God? Can God lie? Can he 
that is truth itself be false? What need hath God 
to flatter or deceive thee? Why should he promise 
thee more than he will perform? Dare not to 
charge the wise, almighty, faithful God with this. © 
How many of the promises have been performed to 
‘thee in thy conversion. Would God so powerfully 
concur with a feigned word? O wretched heart of 
unbelief, hath God made thee a promise of rest, 
and wilt thou come short of it? Thine eyes, thine 
ears, and all thy senses may prove delusions sooner 
than a promise of God can delude thee. Thou 
mayest be surer of that which is written in the 
word, than if thou didst see it with thine eyes, or 
feel it with thine hands. Art thou sure thou art 
alive, or that this is earth thou standest on, or that 
thine eyes see the sun? As sure is all this glory to 
the saints; as sure shall I be higher than yonder 
stars, and live for ever in the holy city, and joyfully 
sound forth the praises of my Redeemer, if 1 be not 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 421 


shut out by this ‘evil heart of unbelief,’ causing me 
to ‘depart from the living God.’ | 

9. “Andis this rest sosweet and so sure? Then 
what mean the careless world? Know they what 
they neglect? Did they ever hear of it, or are they 
yet asleep, or are they dead? Do they certainly 
know that the crown is before them, while they ~ 
thus sit still, or follow trifles? Undoubtedly they 
are beside themselves, to mind so much their pro- 
vision by the way, when they are hasting so fast to 
another world, and their eternal happiness lies at 
stake. Were there left one spark of reason, they 
would never sell their rest for toil, nor their glory 
for worldly vanities, nor venture heaven for sinful 
pleasure. Poor men. O that you would once con- 
sider what you hazard, and then you would scorn 
these tempting baits. Blessed for ever be that love 
which hath rescued me from this bewitching dark- 
ness. 

10. ‘‘ Draw yet nearer, O my soul, with thy most 
Jervent love. Here is matter for it to work upon, 
something worth thy loving. O see what beauty 
presents itself. Is not all the beauty in the world 
united here? Is not all other beauty but deform- 
ity? Dost thou now need to be persuaded to love ? 
Here is a feast for thine eyes and all the powers of 
thy soul: dost thou need entreaties to feed upon it? 
Canst thou love a little shining earth, a walking 
piece of clay ; and canst thou not love that God, 


422 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


that Christ, that glory, which are so truly and un- 
measurably lovely? Thou canst love thy friend, 
because he loves thee; and is the love of a friend 
like the love of Christ? Their weeping or bleed- 
ing for thee does not ease thee, nor stay the course 
of thy tears or blood; but the tears and blood that 
fell from thy Lord have a sovereign, healing virtue. 
O my soul, if love deserves and should beget love, 
what incomprehensible love is here before thee. 
Pour out all the store of thy affections here, and 
all is too little. O that it were more—O that it 
were many thousand times more. Let him be first 
served, that served thee first. Let him have the 
first-born and strength of thy soul, who parted with 
strength and life and love for thee. ~ 

‘OQ my soul, dost thou love for excellency? Yon- 
der is the region of light; this is the land of dark- 
ness. Yonder twinkling stars, that shining moon, 
and radiant sun, are all but lanterns hung out of 
thy Father’s house, to light thee while thou walk- 
est in this dark world. But how little dost thou | 
know the glory and blessedness that are within. 

“Dost thou love for suztableness? What person 
more suitable than Christ? His godhead and hu- 
manity, his fulness and freeness, his willingness 
and constancy, all proclaim: him thy most suitable 
friend. What state more suitable to thy misery 
than mercy, or to thy sin and pollution than honor 
and perfection? What place more suitable to thee 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 423 


than heaven? Does this world agree with thy 
desires? Hast theu not had a sufficient trial of it, 
or dost thou love for interest and near relation ? 
Where hast thou better interest than in heaven, or 
nearer relation than there ? 

“Dost thou love for acquaintance and familiar- 
éty? Though thine eyes have never seen thy Lord, 
yet thou hast heard his voice, received his benefits, 
and lived in his bosom. He taught thee to know 
thyself and him; he opened thee that first window, 
through which thou sawest into heaven. Hast 
thou forgotten since thy heart was careless, and he 
awakened it; hard, and he softened it; stubborn, 
and he made it yield; at peace, and he troubled 
it; whole, and he broke it; and broken till he 
healed it again? Hast thou forgotten the times 
when he found thee in tears; when he heard thy 
secret sighs and groans, and left all to come and 
comfort thee; when he took thee, as it were, in 
his arms, and asked thee, ‘Poor soul, what ails 
thee? Dost thou weep, when I have wept so 
much? Be of good cheer; thy wounds are saving, 
and not deadly ; it is have made them, who mean 
thee no hurt; though [ let out thy blood, I will 
not let out thy life.’ I remember his voice. How 
gently did he take me up; how carefully did he 
dress my wounds. Methinks I hear him still say- 
ing to me, ‘Poor sinner, though thou hast dealt 
unkindly with me and cast me off, yet I will not 


€ y' 


424 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


do so by thee. Though thou hast set light by me 
and all my mercies, yet they and myself are» all 
thine. What wouldst thou have that I can give 
thee ; and what dost thou want that I cannot give 
thee? If any thing I have will give thee pleasure, 
thou shalt have it. Wouldst thou have pardon? | 
treely forgive thee all the debt. Wouldst thou have 
grace and peace? thou shalt have both. Wouldst 
thou have myself? behold, I am thine, thy Friend, 
thy Lord, thy Brother, Husband, and Head. Wouldst 
thou have the Father? I will bring thee to him, 
and thou shalt have him, in and by me.’- These 
were my Lord’s reviving words. 

‘« After all, when I was doubtful of his love, me- 
thinks I yet remember his overcoming arguments : 
‘Have I done so much, sinner, to testify my love, 
and yet dost thou doubt? Have I. offered thee 
myself and love so long, and yet dost thou question 

_my willingness to be thine? At what dearer rate 
. Should I tell thee that I love thee? Wilt thou not 
» believe my bitter passion proceeded from love? 
Have I made myself in the gospel a lion to thine 
’ enemies and a lamb to thee, and dost thou overlook 
my lamb-like nature? Had I been willing to let a | 
thee perish, what need I have done and suffered so, 
much? What need I follow thee with such pa- 
tience and importunity? Why dost thou tell me 
of thy wants ; have I not enough for me and thee? 
or of thy unworthiness ;-for, if thou wast thyselt 





*. 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 425. 


worthy, what shouldst thon do with my worthi- 
ness? Did I ever invite or save the worthy and 
righteous ; or is there any such upon earth? Hast 
thou nothing ; art thou lost and miserable, helpless 
» and forlorn? Dost thou believe I am an all-suffi- 
cient Saviour, and wouldst thou have me? Lo, I 
am thine; take me; if thou art willing, 1 am; and 
neither sin nor Satan shall break the bond.’ These, 
O these were the blessed words which his Spirit 
from his gospel spoke unto me, till he made me 
cast myself at his feet, and cry out, ‘My Saviour, 
and my Lord, thou hast broken, thou -hast revived 
my heart; thou hast overcome, thou hast won. my 
heart; take it, it is thine: if such a heart can 
please thee, take it; if it cannot, make it such as 
thou wouldst have it.’ Thus, O my soul, mayest 
thou remember the sweet familiarity thou hast had 
with Christ ; therefore, if acquaintance will cause 
affection, let out thy heart unto him. It is he that 
_ has stood by thy bed of sickness, has eased thy 
_ pains, refreshed thy weariness, and removed thy 
a fears. He has been always ready, when thou hast 
_. earnestly sought him ; has met thee in public and 
ay “private; has been found of thee in the congrega- 
J stion, in thy house, in thy closet, in the field, in thy 
_ waking nights, in thy deepest dangers. 
“If bounty and compassion be an attractive of 
love, how unmeasurably, then, am I bound to love - 
him. All the mercies that have filled up my life, all 


426 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


the places that ever I abode in, all the societies and 
persons I have been conversant with, all my employ- 
ments and relations, every condition I have been in, 
and every change I have passed through, all tell me 
that the fountain is overflowing goodness. Lord, 
what a sum of love am I indebted to thee. And 
how does my debt continually increase. How 
should I love again for so much love. But shall 
I dare to think of requiting thee, or of recompensing 
all thy love with mine? Will my mite requite 
thee for thy golden mines; my faint wishes, for 
thy constant bounty ; mine, which is nothing, or not 
rine, for thine, which is infinite, and thine own? 
Shall I dare to contend in love with thee, or set my 
borrowed, languid spark against the sun of love? 
Can I love as high, as deep, as broad, as long as 
ove itself; as much as he that made me, and 
that made me-love, and gave me all that little 
which I have? As I cannot match thee in the 
works of power, nor make, nor preserve, nor rule 
the worlds, no more can I match thee in love. 
No, Lord, I yield, Iam overcome. O blessed con- 
quest. Go on victoriously, and still prevail, and 
triumph in thy love. The captive of love shall 
proclaim thy victory: when thou leadest me in 
triumph from earth to heaven, from death to life, 
from the tribunal to the throne, myself and all that 
see it shall acknowledge thou hast prevailed, and 
all shall say, ‘ Behold, how he loved him.’ Yet let 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 427 


me love in subjection to thy love; as thy redeemed 
captive, though not thy peer. Shall I not love at 
all, because I cannot reach thy measure? O that 
I could feelingly say, ‘I love thee,’ ‘even as I love 
my friend and myself. Though I cannot say, as 
‘the apostle, ‘Thou knowest that I love thee ;’ yet 
I can say, Lord, thou knowest that I would love 
thee. Iam angry with my heart that it doth not 
love thee ; I chide it, yet it doth not mend; I rea- 
son with it, and would fain persuade it, yet I do 
not perceive it stir; I rub and chafe it in the use 
of ordinances, and yet I feel it not warm within 
me. 

‘‘Unworthy soul, is not thine eye now upon the 
only lovely object? Art thou not now beholding 
the ravishing glory of the saints? And dost thou 
not love? Art thou not a rational soul, and should 
not reason tell thee that earth is a dungeon to the 
celestial glory? Art thou not thyself a spirit, and 
shouldst thou not love God, ‘who is a spirit, and 
the Father of spirits?” Why dost thou love so 
much thy perishing clay, and love no more the 
heavenly glory? Shalt thou love when thou 
comest there—when the Lord shall take thy body 
from the grave, and make thee shine as the sun in 
glory for ever and ever—shalt thou then love, or 
shalt thou not? Is not the place a meeting of lov- 
ers? Is not the life a state of love? Is it not the 
great marriage-day of the Lamb? Is not the em- 


428 THE SAINTS’ REBT. 


ployment there the work of love, where the souls _ 
with Christ take their fill? O then, my soul, begin 
it here. ‘Be sick with love’ now, that thou may- 
est be well with love there. ‘Keep thyself’ now 
‘in the love of God,’ and let ‘neither life nor death 
nor any thing separate thee from it;’ and thou 
shalt be kept in the fulness of love for ever, and 
nothing shall imbitter or abate thy pleasure; for 
the Lord hath prepared a city of love, a place for 
communicating love to his chosen, ‘and they that 
love his name shall dwell therein.’ 

11. “Awake, then, O my drowsy soul! To sleep 
under the light of grace is unreasonable, much more 
in the approach of the light of glory. Come forth, 
my dull, congealed spirit; thy Lord bids thee ‘7e- 
joice, and again rejoice. Thou hast lain long 
enough in thy prison of flesh, where Satan has been 
thy jailer, cares have been thy irons, fears thy 
scourges, and thy food the bread and water of af- 
fliction; where sorrows have been thy lodgings, 
and thy sin and foes have made thy bed, and an 
unbelieving heart has been the gates and bars that 
have kept thee in: the angel of the covenant now 
calls thee, and bids thee ‘arise and follow him.’ 
Up, O my soul, and cheerfully obey, and thy bolts 
and bars shall all fly open: follow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth. Shouldst thou fear to 
follow such a guide? Can the sun lead thee toa 
state of darkness? Will He lead thee to death 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 429 


who died to save thee from it? Follow him, and 
he will show thee the paradise of God; he will 
give thee a sight of the new Jerusalem, and a taste 
of the tree of life. Come forth, my drooping soul, 
and lay aside thy winter dress; let it be seen, by 
thy ‘garments of joy and praise,’ that the spring is 
come ; and as thou now seest thy comforts green, 
thou shalt shortly see them ‘white and ripe for 
harvest,’ and then thou shalt be called to reap, and 
gather, and take possession. Should I suspend and 
delay my joys till then? Should not the joys of 
the spring go before the joys of harvest? Is title 
nothing before possession ? Is the heir in no better 
a state than a slave? My Lord has taught me to 
rejoice in hope of his glory, and how to see it 
through the bars of a prison ; for, when persecuted 
for righteousness’ sake, he commands me to ‘ rejoice 
and be exceeding glad,’ because ‘my reward in 
heaven is great.’ 

““T know he would have my joys exceed my 
sorrows ; and as much as he delights in ‘the hum- 
ble and contrite,’ he yet more delights in the soul 
that ‘delights in him.’ Hath my bord spread me 
a table in this wilderness, and furnished it with the 
promises of everlasting glory, and set before me 
angels’ food? Doth he frequently and importu- 
nately invite me to sit down and partake, and 
spare not? Hath he to that end furnished me 
with reason, and faith, and a joyful disposition ; 


430 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


and is it possible that he should be unwilling to 
have me rejoice? Is it not his command ‘to ‘de- 
light thyself in the Lord,’ and his promise, to ‘give 
thee the desires of thine heart?’ Art thou not 
charged to ‘rejoice evermore; yea, to ‘sing aloud 
and shout for joy?’ Why should I, then, be dis- 
couraged? My God is willing, if I were but will- 
ing. He is delighted in my delights. He would 
have it my constant frame and daily business to be 
near him in my believing meditations, and to live 
in the sweetest thoughts of his goodness. O blessed 
employment, fit for the sons of God. But thy feast, 
my Lord, is nothing to me without an appetite. 
Thou hast set the dainties of heaven before me, 
but alas, I am blind and cannot see them. I am 
sick, and cannot relish them; I am so benumbed 
that I cannot put forth a hand to take them. I 
therefore humbly beg this grace, that as thou hast 
opened heaven to me in thy word, so thou wouldst 
open mine eyes to see it, and my heart to delight 
in it; else heaven will be no heaven to me. O 
thou Spirit of life, breathe upon thy graces in me; 
take me by the hand, and lift me from the earth, 
that I may see what glory ‘thou hast prepared for 
them that love thee.’ “y 
“A way, then, ye soul-tormenting cares and fears, 
ye heart-vexing sorrows. At least, forbear a little 
while: stand by; stay here below, till I go up and 
see my rest. The way is strange to me, but not 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 434 


to Christ. There was the eternal abode of his glo- 
rious Deity ; and thither hath he also brought his 
glorified*flesh. It was his work to purchase it; it 
is his to prepare it, and to prepare me for it, and 
bring me to it. The eternal God of truth hath 
given me his promise, his seal and oath, that, ‘ be- 
lieving in Christ, I shall not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life.’ Thither shall my soul be speedily 
removed, and my body very shortly follow. And 
can my tongue say that I shall shortly and surely 
live with God, and yet my heart not leap within 
me? Can I say it with faith, and not with joy? 
Ah, faith, how sensibly do I now perceive thy 
weakness. But though unbelief darken my light, 
and dull my life, and suppress my joys, it shall not 
be able to conquer and destroy me; though it envy 
all my comforts, yet some, in spite of it, I shall 
even here receive; and if that did not hinder, what 
abundance might I have. The light of heaven 
would shine into my heart, and I might be almost 
as familiar there as I am on earth. Come away, 
then, my soul, stop thine ears to the ignorant lan- 
guage of infidelity ; thou art able to answer all its 
arguments; or if thou art not, yet tread them 
under thy feet. Come away; stand not looking 
on that grave, nor turning those bones, nor read- 
ing thy lesson now in the dust; those lines will 
soon be wiped out. But lft up thy head and look 
to heaven, and see thy name written in golden 


432 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


letters ‘in the book of life of the Lamb that was 
slain.’ | 

‘What if an angel should tell thee that there is 
a mansion in heaven prepared for thee, that it shall 
certainly be thine for ever ; would not such a mes- 
sage make thee glad? And dost thou make lght 
of the infallible word of promise, which was deliv- 
ered by the Spirit, and even by the Son himself? 
Suppose thou hadst seen a fiery chariot come for 
thee, and take thee up to heaven, like Elijah; 
would not this rejoice thee? But thy Lord assures 
thee that the soul of a Lazarus hath a convoy of 
angels to carry it into Abraham’s bosom. Shall a 
drunkard be so merry among his cups, or the glut- 
ton in his delicious fare, and shall not I rejoice, 
who must shortly be in heaven? Can meat and 
drink delight me when I hunger and thirst? Can 
I find pleasure in walks and gardens and convenient 
dwellings? Can beautiful objects delight my eyes, 
or grateful odors my smell, or melody my ears; 
and shall not the forethought of celestial bliss de- 
light me? Methinks among my books I could 
employ myself in sweet content, and bid the world 
farewell, and pity the rich and great that know 
not this happiness; what then will my happiness 
in heaven be, where my knowledge will be perfect ? 
If «the queen of Sheba came from the utmost parts 
of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,’ and 
see his glory, how cheerfully should I pass from 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 433 


earth to heaven, to see the glory of the eternal 
majesty, and attain the height of wisdom, compared 
with which the most learned on earth are but fools 
and idiots. What if God had made me commander 
of the earth; what if I could ‘ remove mountains; 
heal diseases with a word or a touch, or cast out 
devils,’ should I not rejoice in such privileges and 
honors as these ; and shall I not much more rejoice 
that my name is written in heaven? I cannot here 
enjoy my parents, or my near and beloved friends, 
without some delight ; especially when I have given 
my whole heart to my friend, how sweet was that 
exercise of my love. O what will it then be to live 
in the perpetual love of God? ‘For brethren to 
dwell together in-unity here, how good and how 
‘pleasant it is.’ To see a family live in love; hus- 
band and wife, parents, children,and servants doing 
all in love to one another; to see a town live to- 
gether in love, without any envyings, brawlings, or 
contentions, law-suits, factions, or divisions, but 
every man loving his neighbor as himself, thinking 
they can never do too much for one another, but 
striving to go beyond each other in love; how 
happy, how delightful a sight is this! O then, 
what blessed society will the family of heaven be, 
and those peaceful inhabitants of the new Jerusa- 
lem, where there is no division nor differing judg- 
ments, no disaffection nor strangeness, no deceitful 
friendship, no, not one unkind expression, not an 
Saints? Rest, 28 


434 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


angry look or thought; but all are one in Obit, ‘ 
who is one with the Father, and all live in the love 
of him who is love itself! The soul is not more 
where it lives than where it loves. How near, 
then, will my soul be united to God, when I shall 
so heartily, strongly, and incessantly love him. 
Ah, wretched, unbelieving heart, that can think of 
such a day and work and life as this with such _ 
low and feeble joys. But my future enjoyments — 
will be more lively. 

‘How delightful is it to me to behold and study 
these inferior works of creation. What a beautiful 
fabric do we here dwell in; the floor so dressed 
with herbs and flowers and trees, and watered with 
springs and rivers ; the roof so widely expanded, so 
admirably adorned. What wonders do sun, moon, 
and stars, seas and winds contain. And hath God 
prepared such a house for corruptible flesh, for a — 
soul imprisoned; and doth he bestow so many mill- 
ions of wonders upon his enemies? QO what a 
dwelling must that be which he prepares for his 
dearly beloved children; and how will the glory 
of the new Jerusalem exceed all the present glory 
of earth. Arise then, O my soul, in thy contem- 
plation, and let thy thoughts of that glory as far 
exceed in sweetness thy thoughts of the excellencies 
below. Fear not to go out of this body and this 
world, when thou must make so happy a change; 
but say, as one did when-he was dying, ‘I am 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 435 


_ glad, and even leap for joy, that the time is come 
in which that mighty Jehovah, whose majesty in 
my search of nature I have admired, whose good- 
ness I have adored, whom by faith I have desired 
and panted after, will now show himself to me face 
to face.’ “ 

“How wonderful also are the works of Provi- 
dence. How delightful to see the great God inter- 
est himself in the safety and advancement of a 
few humble, praying, but despised persons ; and to 
review those special mercies with which my own 
life has been adorned and sweetened. How often 
have my prayers been heard, my tears regarded, my 
troubled soul relieved. How often hath my Lord 

_bid me be of good cheer. What a support are these 

"experiences, these clear testimonies of my Father’s’ 
love, to my fearful, unbelieving heart. O then 
what a blessed day will that be when I shall have 
all mercy, perfection of mercy, and fully enjoy the 
Lord of merey; when I shall stand on the shore 
and look back on the raging seas Ihave safely 
passed; when I shall review my pains and sor- 
rows, my fears {and tears, and possess the glory 
which was the end of ally If one drop of lively 
faith was mixed with these considerations, what a 
heaven-ravishing heart should I carry within me, 
Fain would ‘I believe; Lord, help my unbelief.’ 

‘“How sweet, O my soul, have ordinances been 
to thee. What delight hast thou had in prayer and 


436 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


thanksgiving, under heavenly sermons aud in the 
society of saints, and to see ‘the Lord adding to the 
church such as should be saved.’ How then can 
my heart conceive the joy which I shall have to 
see the perfected church in heaven, and to be 
admitted into the celestial temple, and with the 
heavenly host praise the Lord for ever? Was the 
word of God sweeter to Job than his necessary 
food, and to David than honey and the honeycomb, 
and was it the joy and rejoicing of Jeremiah’s 
heart? how blessed a day will that be when we 
shall fully enjoy the Lord of this word, and shall 
no more need these written precepts and promises, 
nor read any book but the face of the glorious God. 
_If they that heard Christ speak on earth ‘were 
astonished at his wisdom and answers, and won- 
dered at the gracious words that proceeded out of 
his mouth,’ how shall I then be affected-to behold 
him in his majesty. 

‘Can the prospect of his glory make others wel- 
come the cross and even refuse deliverance; and 
cannot it make thee cheerful under lesser sufferings? 
Can it sweeten the flames of martyrdom, and not 
sweeten thy life, or thy sickness, or thy natural 
death? Is it not the same heaven which they and 
I. must live in? Is not their God, their Christ, 
their crown and mine the same? And shall I look 
upon it with an eye so dim, a heart so dull, a coun- 
tenance so dejected? Some small foretastes of it 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 437 


have I myself had; and how much more delightful 
have they been than any earthly things ever were. 
What then will the full enjoyment be? 

“What a beauty is there here in the imperfect 
graces of the Spirit. Alas, how small are these to 
what we shall enjoy in our perfect state. What a 
happy life should I here live, could I but love God 
as much as I wonld—could I be all love and always 
loving. O my soul, what wouldst thou give for 
such a life? Had I such apprehensions of God, 
such knowledge of his word as I desire; could I 
fully trust him in all my straits; could I be as 
lively as I would in every duty ; could I make God 
my constant desire and delight, I would not envy 
the world their honors or pleasures. What a blessed 
state, O my soul, wilt thou shortly be in, when thou 
shalt have far more of these than thou canst now 
desire, and shalt exercise thy perfected graces in 
the immediate vision of God, and not in the dark 
and at a distance, as now. 

‘Ts the sinning, afflicted, persecuted church of 
Christ so much more excellent than any particular 
gracious soul? What then will the church be 
when it is fully gathered and glorified; when it 
has ascended from the valley of tears to mount 
Zion; when it shall sin and suffer no more? The 
glory of the old Jerusalem will be darkness and 
deformity to the glory of the new.» What cause 
- shall we have then to shout for joy, when we shall 


438 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


see how glorious the heavenly temple is, and remem- 
ber the meanness of the church on earth. 

12. “But, alas, at what a loss am I in the midst 
of my contemplations. I thought my heart had all 
the while attended, but I see it hath not. What 
life is there in empty thoughts and words without 
affections? Neither God nor I find pleasure in 
them. Where hast thou been, unworthy heart, 
while I was opening to thee the everlasting treas- 
ures? Art thou not ashamed to complain so much 
of an uncomfortable life, and to murmur at God for 
filling thee with sorrows, when he in vain offers 
thee the delights of angels? Hadst thou now but 
followed me close, it would have made thee revive 
and leap for joy, and forget thy pains and sorrows. 
Did I think my heart had been so backward to 
rejoice ? 

13. “Lord, thou hast reserved my perfect joys 
for heaven ; therefore, help me to desire till I may 
possess, and let me long when I cannot, as I would, 
rejoice. O my soul, thou knowest to thy sorrow 
that thou art not yet at thy rest. When shall I 
arrive at that safe and quiet harbor where there 
are none of these storms, waves, and dangers; 
when I shall never more have a weary, restless 
night or day? Then my life will not be such a 
mixture of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow; nor 
shall flesh and spirit be combating within me; nor 
faith and unbelief, humility and pride, maintain a 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 439 


continual conflict. O when shall I be past these 
soul-tormenting fears and cares and griefs? When 
shall I be out of this soul-contradicting, ensnaring, 
deceitful flesh; this corruptible body, this vain, 
vexatious world? Alas, that I must stand and 
see the church and cause of Christ tossed about in 
contention, and made subservient to private inter- 
ests or deluded fancies. There is none of this dis- 
order in the heavenly Jerusalem ; there I shall find 
a harmonious concert of perfected spirits obeying 
and praising their everlasting King. O how much 
better to be a door-keeper there, than the commander 
of this tumultuous world. Why am I no more 
weary of this weariness? . Why do I so forget my 
resting-place? Up then, O my soul, in thy most 
raised and fervent desires. Stay not till this flesh 
can desire with thee ; expect not that sense should 
apprehend thy blessed object, and tell thee when 
and what to desire. 

‘Doth not the dulness of thy desires after rest 
accuse thee of most detestable ingratitude and 
folly? Must thy Lord procure thee a rest at so 
dear a rate, and dost thou no more value it? Must 
he go before to prepare so glorious a mansion for 
such a wretch, and art thou loath to go and possess 
it? Shall the Lord of glory be desirous of thy 
company, and thou not desirous of his? Must 
earth become a very hell to thee before thou art 
willing to be with God? Behold the most lovely 


440 THE SAINTS’ REST. | 


creature, or the most desirable state, and tell me, 
where wouldst thou be if not with God? Poverty 
is a burden; riches a snare ; sickness unpleasing ; 
health unsafe; the frowning world bruises thy heel ; 
the smiling world stings thee to the heart; so much 
as the world is loved and delighted in, it hurts and 
endangers the lover; and if it may not be loved, 
why should it be desired? If thou art applauded, 
it proves the most contagious breath; if thou art 
vilified, or unkindly used, methinks this should not 
entice thy love. If thy successful labors and thy 
godly friends seem better to thee than a life with 
God, it is time for God to take them from thee. If 
thy studies have been sweet, have they not also 
_.been bitter? And at best, what are they to the 
everlasting view of the God of truth? Thy friends 
here have been thy delight, and have they not also 
been thy vexation and grief? They are gracious, 
and are they not also sinful? They are kind, and 
are they not soon displeased? They are humble, 
but, alas, how proud also. Their graces are sweet, 
and their gifts helpful; but are not their corrup- 
tions bitter, and their imperfections hurtful? And 
art thou so loath to go from them to thy God? 
“O my soul, look above this world of sorrows. 
Hast thou so long felt the smarting rod of affliction, 
and no better understood its meaning? Is not every 
stroke to drive thee hence? Is not its voice like 
that to Elijah, ‘What doest thou here?’ Dost thou 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 441 


forget thy | Lord’s prediction? ‘In the world ye 
shall have tribulation; in me ye shall have peace.’ 
Ah, my dear Lord, I feel thy meaning ; it is writ- 
ten in my flesh, engraved in my bones. My heart 
_ thou aimest at; thy rod drives; thy silken cord of 
love draws; and all to bring it to thyself. Lord, 
can such a heart be worth thy having? Make it 
worthy, and then it is thine ; take it to thyself, and 
then take me. This clod hath life to stir, but not 
to rise. As the feeble child to the tender mother, 
it looketh up to thee, and stretcheth out the hands, 
and fain would have thee take it up. Though I 
cannot say, ‘My soul longeth after thee,’ yet I can 
say, long for such a longing heart. ‘The spirit i 
willing, the flesh is weak.’ My spirit cries, ‘ Let 
thy kingdom come,’ or let me come to thy kingdom ; 
but the flesh is afraid thou shouldst hear my prayer, 
and take me at my word. OQ blessed be thy grace, 
which makes use of my corruptions to kill them- 
selves; for I fear my fears, and sorrow for my 
sorrows, and long for greater longings; and thus 
the painful means of attaining my desires increase 
my weariness, and that makes me groan to be at 
rest. 

“Indeed, Lord, my soul itself is in a strait, and 
what to choose I know not; but thou knowest what 
to give: ‘to depart and be with thee is far better;’ 
but ‘to abide in the flesh’ seems needful. Thou 
knowest I am not weary of thy work, but of sorrow 






442 THE SAINTS’ REST.’ 


and sin; I am willing to stay while thou wilt 
employ me, and despatch the work thou hast put 
into my hands; but I beseech thee, stay no longer 
when this is done; and while I must be here, let 
me be still amending and ascending; make me still 
better, and take me at the best. I dare not be so 
impatient as to importune thee to cut off my time, 
and snatch me hence unready; because I know my 
everlasting state so much depends on the improve- 
ment of this life. Nor would I stay when my work 
is done, and remain here sinning, while my breth- 
ren are triumphing. Thy footsteps bruise this 
worm, while those stars shine in the firmament of 
glory. Yet I am thy child as well as they. Christ 
‘is my head as well as theirs; why is there then so 
“great a distance? But I acknowledge the equity 
of thy ways; though we are all children, yet 1 am 
the prodigal, and therefore more fit, in this remote 
country, to feed on husks, while they are always 
with thee, and possess thy glory. They were once 
themselves in my condition, and I shall shortly be 
in theirs. They were of the lowest form before 
they came to the highest; they suffered before they 
reigned ; they ‘came out of great tribulation, who 
are now before thy throne;’ and shall I not be con- 
tent to come to the crown as they did, and to ‘drink 
of their cup, before I sit with them in the king- 
dom?’ Lord, I am content to stay thy time, and 
go thy way, so thou wilt exalt me also in thy 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 443 


season, and take me into thy barn when thou seest 
me ripe. In the meantime, I may desire, though I 
am not to repine; I may believe and wish, though 
not make any sinful haste; I am willing to wait for 
_ thee, but not to lose thee ; and when thou seest me 
too contented with thine absence, then quicken my 
languid desires, and blow up the dying spark of 
love; and leave me not until I am able unfeignedly 
to cry out, ‘As the heart panteth after the water- 
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My 
soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when 
shall I come and appear before God? My conver- 
sation is in heaven, from whence I look for a 
Saviour. My affections are set on things above, 
where Christ sitteth and my life is hid. I walk by 
faith, and not by sight, willing rather to be absent 
from the body and present with the Lord.’ 

“What interest hath this empty world in me; 
and what is there in it that may seem so lovely as 
to entice my desires from my God, or make me 
loath to soar away? Methinks, when I look upon 
it with a deliberate eye, it is a howling wilderness, 
and too many of its inhabitants are untamed mon- 
sters. I can view all its beauty as deformity, and 
drown all its pleasures in a few penitent tears ; or 
the wind of a sigh will scatter them away. O let 
not this flesh so seduce my soul as to make it pre- 
fer this weary life before the joys that are about thy 
throne. And though death itself be unwelcome to 


444 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


nature, yet let thy grace make thy glory appear to 
me so desirable that the king of terrors may be the 
messenger of my joy. Let not my soul be ejected by 
violence, and dispossessed of its habitation against 
its will; but draw it to thyself by the secret power | 
of thy love, as the sunshine in the spring draws \ 
forth the creatures from their winter cells; meet it 
half way, and entice it to thee as the loadstone 
doth the iron, and as the greater flame attracts the 
less. Dispel therefore the clouds that hide thy 
love from me, or remove the scales that hinder 
mine eyes from beholding thee; for the beams 
that stream from thy face, and the foretastes of thy 
great salvation, and nothing else, can make a soul 
unfeignedly say, ‘Now let thy servant depart in 
peace.” But it is not thy ordinary discoveries that 
will here suffice; as the work is greater, so must 
thy help be. O turn these fears into strong desires; 
and this loathness to die into longings after thee. 
While I must be absent from thee, let my soul as 
heartily groan as my body doth under its want of 
health. If I have any more time to spend on 
earth, let me live as without the world in thee, 
as I have sometimes lived as without thee in the 
world. While [ have a thought to think, let me 
not forget thee; or a tongue to move, let me men- 
tion thee with delight ; or breath to breathe, let it 
be after thee, and for thee ; or a knee to bend, let 
it daily bow at thy footstool ; and when by sickness 


CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED. 445 
thou confinest me, do thou ‘make my bed, number 
my pains, and put all my tears into thy bottle.’ 

‘As my flesh desired what my spirit abhorred, so 
now let my spirit desire that day which my. flesh 
abhorreth ; that my friends may not with so much 
‘sorrow wait for the departure of my soul, as my 
soul with joy shall wait for its own departure. 
Then ‘let me die the death of the righteous, and let 
my last end be like his;’ even a removal to that 
glory which shall never end. Then let thy convoy 
of angels bear my departing soul among the per- 
fected spirits of the just, and let me follow my dear 
friends who have died in Christ before me; and 
while my sorrowing friends are weeping over my 
grave, let my spirit be reposed with thee in rest ; 
and while my body shall lie mouldering in the dust, 
let my soul have ‘the inheritance of the saints in 
light.’ O thou that numberest the very hairs of my 
head, number all the days that my body hes in the 
dust ; and thou that ‘ writest all my members in thy 
book,’ keep an account of my scattered bones. O 
my Saviour, hasten the time of thy return; send 
forth thy angels, and let that dreadful, joyful 
trumpet sound. Delay not, lest the living give up 
their hope; delay not, lest earth should grow like 
hell, and thy church by division be all crumbled to 
dust ; delay not, lest thy enemies get advantage of 
thy flock, and lest pride, hypocrisy, sensuality, and 
unbelief prevail against that little remnant, and 


446 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


share among them thy whole inheritance, and 
when thou comest, thou find not faith on the 
earth; delay not, lest the grave should boast of 
victory, and having learned rebellion of its guest, 
should refuse to deliver thee up thydue. O hasten 
that great resurrection-day, when thy command 
shall go forth, and none disobey ; when ‘the sea 
and the earth shall yield up their hostages, and all 
that sleep in the grave shall awake, and the dead 
in Christ shall rise first ;) when the seed which thou 
sowest corruptible, shall come forth incorruptible ; 
and graves that received rottenness and dust, shall 
return thee glorious stars and suns. Therefore 
dare I lay down my body in the dust, intrusting it 
not to a grave, but to thee; and therefore my flesh 
shall rest in hope, till thou shall raise it to the pos- 
session of everlasting rest. ‘Return, O Lord, how 
long? O let thy kingdom come.’ Thy desolate 
‘bride saith, Come!’ for thy Spirit within her saith, 
Come, and teacheth her thus to ‘pray with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered ; yea, the whole crea- 
tion saith, Come—waiting to be delivered from the 
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of 
the children of God.’ Thou thyself hast said, 
‘Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, 
Lord Jesus.’ ” . 


CONCLUSION. 447 


CONCLUSION. 


Tuus, reader, I have given thee my best advice 
for maintaining a heavenly conversation. If thou 
- canst not thus meditate methodically and fully, yet 
do it as thou canst; only be sure to do it seriously 
and frequently. Be acquainted with this heavenly 
work, and thou wilt, in some degree, be acquainted 
with God; thy joys will be spiritual, prevalent, 
and lasting, according to the nature of their blessed 
object; thou wilt have comfort in life and death. 
When thou hast neither wealth nor health nor the 
pleasures of this world, yet wilt thou have comfort. 
Without the presence or help of any friend, without 
a minister, without a book, when all means are de- 
nied thee or taken from thee, yet mayest thou have. 
vigorous, real comfort. Thy graces will be mighty, 
active, and victorious; and the daily joy which is 
thus drawn from heaven will be thy strength. 
Thou wilt be as one that stands on the top of an 
exceeding high mountain; he looks down on the 
world as if it were quite below him; fields and 
woods, cities and towns seem to him but httle 
spots. Thus despicably wilt thou look on all 
things here below. The greatest princes will seem 
but as grasshoppers; the busy, contentious, covet- 
ous world, but as a heap of ants. Men’s threaten- 
ings will be no terror to thee, nor the honors of this 


443 THE SAINTS’ REST 


world any strong enticement; temptations will be 
more harmless, as having lost their strength; and 
afflictions iess grievous, as having lost their sting ; 
and every mercy will be better known and relished. 
It is now, under God, in thy own choice, whether 
thou wilt live this blessed life or not ; and whether 
all this pains I have taken for thee shall prosper or 
be lost. Ifit be lost through thy neglect, thou thy- 
self wilt prove the greatest loser. O man, what 
hast thou to mind but God and heaven? Art thou 
not almost out of this world already? Dost thou 
not look every day, when one disease or another will 
release thy soul? Does not the grave wait to be 
thine house, and worms to feed upon thy face and 
heart? What if thy pulse must beat a few strokes 
more? Whatif thou hast a little longer to breathe, 
before thou. breathe out thy last—a few more nights 
to sleep, before thou sleepest in the dust? Alas, 
what will this be when it is gone? And is it not 
almost gone already? Very shortly thou wilt see 
thy glass run out, and say to thyself, “My life is 
done; my time is gone; it is past recalling. There 
is nothing now but heaven or hell before me.” 
Where, then, should thy heart be now but in 
heaven? Didst thou know what a dreadful thing 
it is to have a doubt of heaven when a man is dy- 
ing, it would raise thee up. And what else but 
doubt can that man then do, that never seriously 
thought of heaven before ? 


4 CONCLUSION. 449 


Some there be that say, ‘It is not worth so — 
much time.and trouble to think of the greatness of” 


the joys above; if we can make sure they are ours, 
we know they are great.” But as these men obey 
- not the command of God, which requires them to 
have their ‘conversation in heaven, and to set 
their affections on things above ;” so they wilfully 
make their own lives miserable, by refusing the 
delights which God hath set before them. And if 
this were all, it were a small matter: but see what 
abundance of other mischiefs follow the neglect of 
these heavenly delights. This neglect will damp, 
if not destroy, their love to God; will make it un- 
pleasant to them to think or speak of God, or en- 
gage in his service ; it tends to pervert their judg- 
ment concerning the ways and ordinances of God ; 
it makes them sensual and voluptuous; it leaves 
them in the power of every affliction and tempta- 
tion, and is a preparative to total apostasy ; it will 
also make them fearful and unwilling to die; for 
who would go to a God ora place he hath no de- 
light in? Who would leave his pleasure here, if 
he had not better to go to? Had I only proposed 
a course of melancholy and fear and sorrow, you 
might reasonably have objected. But you must 
have heavenly delights, or none that are lasting. 
God is willing you should daily walk with him, 
and draw consolations from the everlasting foun- 
tain: if you are unwilling, even bear the loss; and 
Saints? Rest, 29 


450 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


when you are dying, seek for comfort where you 
can get it, and see whether fleshly delights will re- 
main with you. Then conscience will remember, 
in spite of you, that you were once persuaded to a 
way for more excellent pleasures—pleasures that 
would have followed you through death, and: have 
lasted to eternity. 

As for you whose hearts God has weaned from 
all things here below, I hope you will value this 
heavenly life, and take one walk every day in the 
new Jerusalem. God is your love and your desire ; 
you would fain be more acquainted with your Sav- 
iour; and I know it is your grief, that your hearts 
are not nearer to him, and that they do not more 
feelingly love him and delight in him. 0 try this 
life of meditation on your heavenly rest. Here is 
the mount on which the fluctuating ark of your 
souls may rest. Let the world see by your heaven- 
ly lives, that religion is something more than 
opinions and disputes, or a task of outward duties. 
If ever a Christian is like himself, and conformable 


“— to his principles and profession, it is when he is 


most serious and lively in this duty. As Moses, 
before he died, went up into mount Nebo to take a 
survey of the land of Canaan, so the Christian as- 
cends the mount of contemplation, and by faith 
surveys his rest. He looks upon the glorious man- 
sions, and says, ‘‘ Glorious things are” deservedly 
‘spoken of thee, thou city of God.” He hears, as 


r CONCLUSION. | 451 


it were, the melody of the heavenly choir, and 
says, “‘ Happy is the people that is in such a case; 
yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” 
He looks upon the glorified inhabitants, and says, 
“Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, 
OQ people, saved by the Lord, who is the shield of 
thy help and the sword of thine excellency ?” 
When he looks upon the Lord himself, who is their 
glory, he is ready, with the rest, to ‘fall down and 
worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and say, 
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and 
is, and'is to come! Thou art worthy, O Lord, to 
receive glory and honor and power.’ When he 
looks on the glorified Saviour, he is ready to say 
Amen to that “new song, Blessing and honor and 
glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. For 
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by 
thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and 
people and nation, and hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests.” When he looks back on 
the wilderness of this world, he blesses the believ-. 
ing, patient, despised saints; he pities the ignorant, 
obstinate, miserable world; and for himself he 
says, as Peter, “It is good to be  here;” or as 
Asaph, ‘It is good for me to draw-near to God ; 
for lo, they that are far from thee shall perish.” 
Thus as Daniel, in his captivity, daily opened his 
window towards Jerusalem, though far.out of sight, 


452 THE SAINTS’ REST. 


when he went to God in his devotions, so may the 
believing soul, in this captivity of the flesh, look 
towards “Jerusalem which is above.” And as 
Paul was to the Colossians, so may the believer be 
with the glorified spirits, “though absent in the 
flesh, yet with them in the spirit, joying and be- 
holding their heavenly order.” And as the lark 
sweetly sings while she soars on high, but is sud- 
denly silenced when she falls to the earth; so is 
the frame of the soul most delightful and diene 
while fixed in the views of God by heavenly con- 
templation. Alas, we make there too short a 1 stay, 

fall down again, and lay by our music. ; 

But “O thou, the merciful Father of spirits, the 
attraction of love and ocean of delights, draw up 
these drossy hearts unto thyself, and keep them 
there till they are spiritualized ‘and refined; and 
second thy servant’s weak endeavors, and persuade 
those that read these lines to the practice of this . 
delightful, heavenly work. O suffer not the soul 
of thy most unworthy servant to be a stranger to 
those joys which he describes to others; but keep 
me, while I remain on earth, in daily breathings 
after thee, and in a believing, affectionate walking 
with thee. And when thou comest, let me be 
found so doing—not serving my flesh, nor asleep, 
with my lamp unfurnished, but waiting and long- 
ing for my Lord’s return. Let those who shall 
read these heavenly directions, not merely read the 


a 


CONCLUSION. 453 


fruit of my studies, but the breathing of my active ° 
hope and love; that if my heart were open to their 
view, they might there read the same most deeply 
~ engraven with a beam from the face of the Son of 
God; and not find vanity or lust or pride within, 
when the words of life appear without; that so 
these lines may not witness against me; but pro- 
ceeding from the heart of the writer, may be effect- 
ual, through thy grace, upon the heart of the reader, 
and so be the savor of life to both. Amen.”’ 


‘ 6 
“Glory be to God in the highest; on earth 
peace, good will towards men.” 


a 


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